Two Scarred Souls Heal Each Other
by Vain Gloriousness
Summary: Yaoi. Slash. Ibiki/Harry. With Hermione, Harry left the Wizarding World and travelled to the Elemental Countries. In Konoha, he builds a new life and business while falling into an unexpected romance.
1. Prologue: Gryffindors Charge Ahead

Two Scarred Souls Heal Each Other

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Naruto. They belong to their respective authors and publishing/media companies.

Warning: Yaoi/Slash. Eventually Harry/Ibiki. Please don't read if its not your cup of tea.

Author's Note: Same universe as my oneshot of 'An Evening's Rhapsody'. Many sincere thank you's to all the wonderful people who reviewed and/or added it to their favorite list. You inspired me to write this story! Quicker!

AN2: Very AU for the HP world. Sirius did not die in the 5th year. His near death scared Harry enough to open his eyes and really look around. Remus and the Weasley twins all survived the final battle as well as Severus and Dumbledore (he's needed for the plot!).

Big thanks to my best friend and beta: latte2. Thanks for encouraging me to write and being my sounding board! The text messages must get annoying but your responses are invaluable!

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Prologue – Gryffindors Charge Ahead

**Potter Manor, England . **

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Harry sat comfortably in a leather chair located behind an antique mahogany desk in the Lord's Study Room at Potter Manor. He leaned forward to focus on his list of things left to complete. It was a thoroughly detailed list, as to be expected of anything created with Hermione Granger's help. After the final battle, a team of mediwizards found a slew of problems with Hermione and himself. It turns out that both of them were dosed with love potions ( a la Weasel) and Hermione was loaded with a mass of loyalty and compulsion charms. Evidently certain members of the light weren't really light at all. In the infirmary, Harry had to cast privacy and shielding charms quickly when he rushed over to comfort a sobbing Hermione. While he had an ideal of the Weasley's duplicity, it was a total shock and very heartbreaking to Hermione.

Never the less, he was truly surprised at the depth of actions taken by the Weasley matriarch and her two youngest freckled gingers. After discussing the matter with Sirius and Remus (who were beyond outraged ), Harry and Hermione both decided to file charges against the three Weasleys. They even had the blessings of the remaining members of the family, the strongest of which was surprisingly Arthur, who was found to be under compulsion charms and love potions too when examined by mediwizards at the request of the DMLE. The trial of the Weasleys was quickly turned into a media circus, much to the disgust of Harry, Hermione, Sirius, and Remus. People wanted to focus on something besides the horrors of the war and the betrayal of their savior served that purpose.

Despite Dumbledore's pleas for leniency and forgiveness to Harry and Hermione, the Weasleys faced public trials for their crimes. Ginny and Ron blamed everything on Molly and the jury agreed with them due to her brewing the potions and her magical signature on the loyalty and compulsion charms. In addition, her actions regarding Arthur did not help her case. For her crimes of illegal use of compulsion charms (on Arthur), illegal use of love potions (Arthur and Harry), theft of family assets (Weasley and Potter), successful line theft (Weasley), and attempted line theft (Potter), the Weasley matriarch was sentenced to life in Azkaban. Her punishment was severe due to the civil laws which invoked specific penalties for crimes against Noble Houses since Harry was the heir of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter and, despite their lack of wealth and political clout, Arthur was the heir of the Ancient House of Weasley when Molly love poisoned him as well.

Ginny was sentenced to a 2000 gallon fine, parole, and mandatory meetings with a mind healer at St. Mungo. It as ruled that she still suffered from the affects of her possession by Tom Riddle during her 2nd year. The possession by the Dark Lord and her overwhelming obsession with Harry that was manipulated and encouraged by Molly earned her sympathy and a lighter sentence. However, the most shocking sentence was Ron's. He was given a very minor penalty for taking advantage of the loyalty charms, compulsion charms, and love potions on Hermione. He revealed under veritaserum that he never planned on marrying Hermione. He only wanted to use her for her intelligence and sexual relief. Marriage or children was never a future goal. Due to being a Pureblood and the fact that Hermione was only a Muggleborn, he only had to pay a fine of 300 galleons and parole for 2 years. Unsurprisingly, his punishment would have been more severe if his victim was a Pureblood or even a Halfblood. Hermione was heartbroken to learn she was still classified as a second class citizen despite all her actions and war time heroism. Harry had a hard time not cursing the members of the Court when the verdict was announced. However, the emotional well being of his adopted sister took priority over disgust and outrage.

That disgust increased as the days went by. The betrayal of the three Weasleys was used by a large fraction of Purebloods who wanted more lenient sentences in the upcoming Deatheater trials. Lawyers argued that if a notorious light family could be pushed to such extreme lengths for power, wealth and the betterment of their family, then logically the accused were only trying to improve their own and their family's circumstances as well.

They declared joining Voldemort was not a good idea; however the poor Purebloods were only trying to find a leader that could counter the influx of muggle ideals into the wizarding world's fine traditions and cultures. Furthermore, they persistently persuaded that if every one of the accused was trialed, punished, and imprisoned, their absence would have a significant impact on wizarding society, politics, and economy. The lawyers pointed out that many of the Deatheaters led upstanding lives and were respectable citizens. It was only their fear for themselves and their family that caused them to do Voldemort's biding.

Harry had to admit that the Deatheaters had fantastic lawyers. The argument that based upon their collective ages, their parents (who were members of Voldemort's generation and were first generation Deatheaters) were the ones that actually forced their Pureblood children into the service of the Dark Lord was utterly brilliant. They revealed that Voldemort was Tom Riddle, who was an abused Halfblood raised in a muggle orphanage. So technically, the nature and rise of the Dark Lord was the result of the Muggle World and his muggle upbringing.

The solicitors painted the Dark Lord as an ambitious Halfblood who used and manipulated Purebloods to accomplish his goals by any means necessary. The 'tragic' sob story of the Deatheaters was devoured by the public. They wanted to blame the war on anything besides themselves and their society. They rallied around the "poor Purebloods who were led astray by a charismatic lying Halfblood with muggle delusions of grandeur" as proclaimed by the Daily Prophet. When the trials came and the majority of verdicts were heavy fines, community service, and parole, Hermione and Harry knew it was time to leave Wizarding Britain. Despite the war fought on blood supremacy, nothing had changed at all. Purebloods would still control everything, and another war was inevitable. However, next time there would not be a 'savior'. And his name would definitely not be Harry.

Sirius and Remus were notified of their decision to leave. The two Marauders were very accepting of their wishes to leave. In fact, they planned on leaving for the States because of Remus's lycanthropy. Remus had heard rumors that there were werewolves who could control their shifting in the United States. He decided it was time to see if those rumors were true, especially since Teddy could inherit his lycanthropy and the political climate of Britain was taking a decisive shift towards a darker nature. Sirius agreed to accompany him due to wanting a change of scenery and, most importantly, living in a country where Malfoy and his dear cousin Bella could walk around freely was nauseating to him. Luckily, Sirius was cleared of his charges (due to Pettigrew being captured), so immigrating to the States would not be a problem. They recommended that Harry and Hermione go to Gringotts if they ever needed assistance with anything complicated, such as Remus's immigration papers due to being a werewolf.

* * *

"Harry, are you in there?", Hermione asked as she knocked on the study door.

"Yes, come on in." he called back before taking another sip from his cup of tea. He frowned and casted a re-heating charm at the cup while Hermione opened and rushed in through the door, holding a dark, heavy book in her hands and an excited look on her face.

"Harry, you have to see this!" she exclaimed. "I was in the library and found the most interesting book. Apparently, there is an entire continent hidden by magic!"

"Continent. Hidden by _magic_!" Harry blinked, somewhat bewildered.

"Yes! Apparently, the magic there is very different. Its similar to how the natural magic in the States is more Wiccan compatible or the magic of Africa is Shaman based. The hidden continent apparently has a unique magic that is called chakra. What is truly outstanding is the fact that everybody who lives there has chakra!" she rapidly explained.

"Everybody!" he sputtered.

"Everybody." nodding decisively, she continued to peruse the book. "The majority of people there do not utilize this chakra. Only people who are dedicated to the shinobi arts are trained to use chakra. Hmm..shinobi arts. That means they are …...Ninjas! Oh, Harry! It's a continent filled with ninjas!"

By now, her excitement had reached a fevered pitch. Her hazel eyes rapidly flickered back and forth, devouring the text while her mind whirled to absorb the new and fascinating information. Even the curls on her head seemed to bounce and shake with excitement.

"Ninjas!" Harry leaned back in his chair, feeling somewhat like a parrot. "There is a continent, hidden by magic, with _Ninjas_ running around in it?! Bloody hell, Hermione! That's crazy. How can anybody miss an entire continent filled with Ninjas?"

"Magic, Harry. Magic." She look up briefly to shoot Harry a 'Duh!' look before going back to her prized book. "Apparently, it was raised by a very powerful Sorcerer to protect and separate the lands from the rest of the world. It is aptly named the Hidden Countries!"

"Wow. A continent of Ninjas, huh. I would love to travel there!" Once the words left his mouth, a bolt of electricity shot up his spine. Looking up, he met Hermione's eyes. In her hazel orbs was a look that was identical to the one in his emerald gaze. A sense of excitement. A yearn to explore the unknown. Most importantly, a gleam of just plain 'Gryffindorism'.

Slowly, a devious smirk crossed his face. "So….feel like taking a trip to the unknown?" Harry queried. It wasn't as if they had anything to lose. The Marauders were moving. The only friends they trusted now were Neville, Luna, and the Weasley Twin, who were all busy with their own pursuits. Unfortunately, Hermione's parents were killed during the war despite her best efforts. Plus, Harry knew he had a microscopic chance of finding obscurity and normalcy anywhere else in the world. His 'fame' had increased substantially after the final defeat of Voldemort.

A beaming smile and a rapid head nod was his only warning before a curly haired missile threw herself into his arms. After enjoying a hug in celebration for their upcoming freedom, a slight frown crossed his visage.

"Umm…Hermoine? If the continent is hidden by magic, exactly how are we going to get there?" he questioned, gently poking her too.

After sitting in silence for a few seconds, they had an epiphany at the same time. Looking at each other once again, they cried in unison:

"Gringotts!"

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Chapter 1/10. Written and uploaded on 1/21/13.

Thank you for reading. Please review!

AN3: I hope to write and upload a new chapter by Sunday of each week. Its completely outlined with 10 chapters. I have a very motivated reader/beta/friend who is not shy about harassing me. (Hi Latte2! *waves*) So undoubtedly, this schedule will stick. Fingers crossed!

AN4: Please vote in my new poll for Hermione's future love interest. It is on my profile page! Latte2 and I are leaning towards Iruka, but your input would be lovely!


	2. Chapter 1 - Hello, Konoha!

Two Scarred Souls Heal Each Other

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Naruto. They belong to their respective authors and publishing/media companies.

Warning: Yaoi/Slash. Harry/Ibiki. Please don't read if its not your cup of tea.

Author's Notes: Thank you to all my wonderful readers who reviewed and/or added this story to their favorite list! My muse adores you all and so do I! To show my love and appreciation – a new chapter that is 5 days ahead of schedule! Mwa ha ha ha!

Please vote in Hermione's pairing on my profile page. Thank you!

Also, Hermione and Harry refer to each other as brother and sister. They will be introduced to everybody as such too. In addition, their names will not be changed to Japanese names. Its out of respect for their parents that they will keep their original names but will add Black in honor of Sirius. And another in honor of Remus.

And again - Big thanks to one of my best friends and beta: latte2. To my other dearest friend, Manriq203, thanks for the encouraging messages! "Mock all flaws unmercifully. It will build character." Way to stick with the Posse Creed, ladies! Keep up the good work!

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Chapter 1: Hello, Konoha!

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**Fire Country, Elemental Lands**

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In a green meadow, located not far away from the road leading to Konoha, a sudden popping noise echoed throughout the clearing, slightly disturbing the peaceful afternoon of its animal inhabitants. However, that peace was completely shattered by a loud crash and the subsequent string of muffled curses that chased it. Soft hooting sounds and low female laughter mixed together to form a strange harmony that accompanied a blistering tirade against all means of magical traveling.

"Really, Harry!" Hermione giggled helplessly, as she watched her companion sit up from the ground, sprinkles of dirt upon his clothing and grass woven though out his ebony locks. "One of the most powerful wizards of today's generation. Beaten! By a goblin portkey!" She burst into laughter, delighted by the irony and the indignant expression on her brother's face.

Harry scowled furiously at Hermione. Well, as furiously as he could due to the presence of a snowy owl that flew to perch on one of his shoulders. It was hard being intimidating with Hedwig diligently pulling grass from his disheveled hair. "Its not my fault that portkeys hate me. At least my beloved Firebolt never betrays me." he mumbled, a small pout on his face while lovingly patting the pocket that contained his shrunken possessions which included one precious broom.

Hermione snorted in disbelief before reaching down to help him get to his feet. Together they carefully looked around the clearing with sharp gazes, avidly taking in their surroundings and monitoring for any hidden threats. Thankfully, nobody witnessed their sudden arrival in Fire Country as they both despised the Oblivate charm. Instead, Hermione and Harry watched the interactions of a small flock of birds and the scavenging journey of a brown rabbit.

"Its very beautiful here." stated Hermione, a sense of rightness coursing through her veins. She glazed upon the idyllic meadow and the picturesque sky filled with slow drifting clouds and warm breezes. 'We did it! We actually made it to the Hidden Countries. We'll be happy here. _Harry _will be happy here.' she thought with determination. 'I'll make sure of that.'

"It sure is." Harry agreed as he stared closely at the trees, unselfconsciously trying to identify the local flora. He had no idea that Hermione and he had made a silent vow to each other. 'I'll make sure that Hermione is happy here. She deserves it.' whispered through his mind.

Meanwhile, Hedwig's head was swiveling back and forth. Fluffing her feathers, she examined this strange new land her Harry had brought them too. As if she would let _her_ chick leave _her_ behind. Utter nonsense. "Hoot!" she cried outraged at the very thought, sharply turning her head to peer intently at Harry. Her large amber eyes flashed vehement warnings against such dastardly deeds. Puzzled, Harry glanced back at his beloved familiar before extending a hesitant hand to pet and soothe his temperamental owl. Exchanging mystified looks with Hermione, he shrugged lightly to convey his utter bewilderment over Hedwig's actions and tightened his grasp on the leather bag thrown over his other shoulder.

"Well. Shall we go?" he questioned Hermione in a soft tone, still somewhat on edge as to why Hedwig was violently glaring at him.

Equally cautious, Hermione nodded her head in agreement. "Definitely. The faster we get there, the faster Dobby and Crookshank can join us.' she replied.

One brief look at their helpful Goblin map and a quick Point Me spell later, they were walking briskly in the direction of the Hidden Village Among the Leaves: Konoha.

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Harry and Hermione gaped looking at the large gate that loomed before them, a mere dozen meters away. After traveling for a few hours on a well worn out road, they finally saw the city of Konoha in the distance. Once they were closer, they were amazed by the astounding large gates and wall that surrounded the city. The imposing structures suddenly struck both of them a symbols of the massive undertaking they were attempting to complete. They used a few minutes to strengthen their mental fortitude. Unknowingly, they had paused before the gate guards' desk and attracted the guards' attention.

Konoha's village gate was heavily guarded by shinobi, whose skills and training were extremely useful in subduing or eliminating any threats to the village. Most days the duty post was a predictable routine: checking the passports of merchants or visitors, greeting the returning shinobi/civilians, checking the merchandise of caravans for illegal contraband, and monitoring for enemy shinobi or suspicious activities. Today that monotony was surprisingly disrupted by the appearance of two strangers.

The two chunin guards, Kotetsu and Izumo, chuckled quietly as they watched a young man and woman gawk unrepentantly at the Legendary Gates of Konoha. They were a strikingly attractive young couple. The brunet man was very handsome with his tousled hair and unusual emerald eyes. Likewise, the woman was beautiful with her dark brown, long curly hair and intelligent hazel eyes. However, the most peculiar aspect of the pair was the majestic white owl that rode on the young man's shoulder. After looking in their direction, the owl flew over and landed delicately on the gate guard's desk. The white owl shuffled across the expanse of the desk and then stood completely still.

The gate guards stopped all activity and peered cautiously at the owl. After a moment of contemplation, Izumo looked at his partner and asked "Tetsu. Is it just my imagination or is that owl staring at us?"

Kotetsu peered closely at the white owl and turned to his partner."Yes, Zumo. That owl is definitely staring."

While the two British people were putting their thoughts in order, Hedwig engaged Kotetsu and Izumo into a staring contest. Izumo was the first to break. After a minute that slowly ticked by, the urge to blink overpowered Kotetsu. Triumphant in her victory over the two that dared to stare at her wizard, Hedwig chuffed happily in delight.

At the sound of Hedwig's laughter, Harry's head snapped sideways, looking for his wayward familiar. He was quite horrified to see her perched on the guard's desk and judging from the shocked expressions on their faces, it was quite possible that she was bullying them too! He rushed quickly to the desk, fervently hoping to avoid any unwanted incidents.

"Oh, Merlin! I am so sorry about Hedwig's behavior." apologized Harry.

"Hedwig?" muttered Izumo looking critically at the unknown man.

"My snowy owl. Her name is Hedwig." explained Harry.

"You have a pet owl. Why?" Kotetsu questioned, very interested due to the fact that owls were not common, especially as pets. 'Maybe it is a summon animal?' he wondered.

"Ummm….well she was a gift. . And she is very good at delivering mail. Plus, she is very smart." Harry told the visibly curious gate guards. Upon hearing the compliment, Hedwig puffed up her feathers in pride. At least until her wizard said "Sometimes, even too smart for her own good."

"Hoot!" came a loud indignant cry.

"Ow! Ow! Hedwig stop pecking me!" yelled an injured wizard as he rapidly hopped around trying to avoid attacks by his furious owl and calming her down at the same time.

Izumo and Kotetsu watched the two with absolutely fascinated expressions painted across their faces. "I think it's a summon." revealed Kotetsu to his friend. "Has to be". He nodded resolutely, confident in his amazing skills of deduction.

"Huh…Well, I think it s a nin-owl." Izumo disagreed with his long time partner. "Definitely."

"Nin-owl. Nin-owl! Of all the asinine…" The disbelieving Chunin turned to argue his stance to his friend, only to be interrupted by a discreet feminine throat clearing sound.

Standing in front of them was the forgotten unknown young woman. She looked at them with laughter dancing through her eyes even though her face maintained a calm composure.

"My brother and I would like to apply for authorization to move into Konoha. Can you please direct us to the proper place to accomplish our endeavor?" politely inquired Hermione, desperately trying to contain her amusement over the current situation. However, she made a mental note to research summon animals and nin – owls in order to figure out why they had mistaken Hedwig as being one. Focusing back on the matter at hand, she presented their passports (compliments from the Goblins in thanks for their wartime actions) to the chunins.

"Ah, yes. You need to go to the Hokage's Tower. It's the large tower that is straight ahead. No funny business though! Its filled with highly trained shinobi who will not be tolerant of law breaking. " warned Izumo as he handed back the stamped passports to Hermione;

"Yes. Thank you for your help." Bowing gracefully, she reached out her hand and unerringly grabbed a hold of her ragged and literally hen-pecked brother. She dragged him unceremoniously behind her as she marched through the gates towards the Hokage's Tower.

"Wow! I can't wait to tell the gang about them!" Izumo said excitedly as they watched the two strangers enter Konoha. Truly, it had been quite awhile since anything interesting had happened to them on guard duty.

Kotetsu nodded his head in agreement before stating imperiously "Summon animal."

"Nin-owl!"

* * *

Walking throughout the village, their eyes swept back and forth, taking in the details of hopefully their new home. The overall atmosphere of Konoha was very relaxing. Hermione was pleased to observe that her research on Konoha was spot on accurate. The city was a mixture of Japan's feudal era and modern society. The shops were bright and colorful, offering a myriad of goods from groceries to weapons. There were plenty of restaurants too, ranging from large bar-b-que restaurants to small ramen stands. However, the young witch was most surprised by the numerous bookstores in Konoha and was curious about why so many of the books were orange. 'Maybe it's a popular color.' she wondered. Hermione couldn't wait to go shopping in the bookstores. She was sure to find some fabulous new treasures.

Harry was also interested in a few of the stores and businesses that they walked past. He was particularly intrigued by the attire worn by a lot of the people. 'They look like robes' he thought. 'Only less bulky and more stylish!' Once they settled in, he was determined to buy some Konoha robes at the earliest opportunity. Overall, the people seemed friendly as they wandered in and out of different businesses. The roads were clean and in relatively good shape. Which was odd because they saw people traveling by hopping from one building's rooftop to another. As the siblings continued their journey to the Hokage's Tower, they realized that they were being observed too. Mostly because of a white feathered anomaly.

"Look Mommy! See the pretty birdy!" announced a young child.

"I see it. Wave to the pretty birdy, honey!" chimed back an overly cheerful mother.

Harry heaved a long suffering sigh as he futilely tried to straighten his hair into a presentable state. He ruefully glanced at the snowy owl that was soaking in the attention with loftiness and poise. The wizard huffed out a quiet laughter before reaching up to give her a apologetic scratch on one of her favorite scratching spots. Hedwig leaned into his touch and eased over to lovingly preen his tangled mop of hair. Watching the two make peace, Hermione let out a low giggle. 'They are so cute together.' she squealed in her mind.

Reaching the center of the village, the witch and wizard beheld the large, red Hokage's Tower. As much as he tried, Harry just couldn't contain it.

"Go! Go Gryffindor!"

"Harry! Must you act so immature?!" cried Hermione after she lightly slapped Harry's arm.

"Hmph. As if you weren't thinking the same thing." scowled Harry.

"I admit to no such thing." Her lips twitched slightly as she declared "Come on. Lets get this over with. I can't wait to rest and call Dobby. Poor Crookshank must be terribly worried!" Hermione determinedly marched into the Hokage's Tower, completely focused on gaining authorization to live in Konoha and securing housing. The faster they got a house, the faster she could be reunited with her beloved familiar who she missed horribly after watching Harry and Hedwig all day.

'Worried? _Crookshank_? Poor Hermione. She must be incredibly tired if she's suffering from such delusions. That goblin portkey probably affected her more than she realized' thought Harry as he rushed to keep up with his exhausted sister.

It only took a few moments to be directed to the appropriate office in the Hokage's Tower. It was a very non-descriptive room and was staffed by a bored clerk. He blandly handed them the necessary paperwork and lazily pointed to the chairs they could sit in. After filling out the few pieces of paper, they presented the new paperwork along with the goblin's paperwork to the office clerk. After briefly scanning the information, his eyes visibly widened and his demeanor become more congenial and disgustingly servile. Hermione and Harry exchanged a quick glance that simultaneously asked the same question, 'What the hell was in those papers?'

"Welcome to Konoha, Miss Potter – Black and Mr. Potter –Black. We are so delighted to have you here in our fair city." gushed the office clerk. "Now, all your paperwork appears to be in order. The only thing remaining is the passing of the security checks."

"Security checks?" questioned Hermione while Harry stoically stared at the clerk.

"Ah, yes. Security checks. Nothing to be alarmed about. You have to meet with our village's security division. After a brief interrogation to ensure you harbor no ill-feelings to the village, you will be cleared to live in the village. No problem, see! As long as you're not enemy spies." he joked nervously.

However, after seeing the non-amused looks on the Potter-Black siblings' faces, he quickly moved on. "Please wait in the sitting area located though those doors and a shinobi will arrive soon to escort you to the Security division". The clerk gestured nervously at a waiting area located on the right as he discretely tried to blot his nervous perspiring brow with a hankerchief.

Seeing the affect they were having on the meek clerk, Hermione briskly but politely thanked him for his help and walked with Harry to the waiting area.

"So…Security checks, huh? Bloody hell!"

"Language Harry!"

"Hoot!"

* * *

Harry sat in a small interrogation room, nervously bouncing one foot up and down. The room was wood paneled and furnished with a fine, dark hued table with matching plush cushioned chairs. It gave off a feeling of understated elegance and wealth. Definitely different from the interrogation rooms he was familiar with and much more like a receiving room in a wealthy manor.

'Wealthy.' thought Harry as he examined his fine surroundings. 'This probably has something to do with the paperwork from the Goblins.'

Despite the room's comfortable atmosphere, he was feeling quite apprehensive about the upcoming questioning session due to his experiences in the war. After all, he received no helpful information from the shinobi who led the siblings to their individual interrogation rooms. The man was quite bizarre with his green spandex outfit and bushy brows. He spoke a confusing and bewildering dialogue that frequently mentioned spring time and youth. Entertaining: Yes. Informative: Hell No!

Feeling his nerves heighten even more, Harry closed his eyes and focused on strengthening his mind's shields in hopes of calming down. Unknown to him, he was being observed though a disguised wall paneling.

Hidden behind a specially sealed wall, Ibiki Morino intensely observed the young man with Haruto Hyuuga. He leafed quickly though the immigration papers before turning to face the young Hyuuga.

"So, is he a threat based upon his chakra?" he questioned.

"No sir, Morino-san. In fact, his chakra coils are barely even formed. Like his sister, his chakra coils appear extremely stunted while an alternative energy system is circulating heavily throughout his body. Although, his energy system does seems to be larger than his sister." reported Haruto in a clear and concise manner.

"That energy source is not demonic, right?"

"Yes sir, Morino-san. A Hyuuga medic nin and Tenzo-san verified the energy system is non-demonic and appears to be naturally."

"Very well. I shall proceed with the interview." Ibiki stated before leaving the room. 'Another freakin bloodline. Whoopie. Why the hell are they even wasting my time. Their paperwork is beyond reproach. And there is no way in hell the Council will not approve a new bloodline in Konoha. A damn waste of my damn time' he thought darkly to himself.

Opening the door, he swiftly entered the room. It was only due to his shinobi training that Ibiki didn't stumble or make another horrible rookie move when captivating emerald orbs looked at him. The young man was stunningly attractive. His tousled ebony locks provoked illicit desires to feel and touch. Perfectly sculpted pink lips begged to kissed and ravished. His 5'7 height was clearly detailed as being firm and lithe through his clothes. But the crowning jewel in his beauty was his hauntingly emerald eyes. They were shadowed by tragedy and sadness, but gleamed with hidden strength and power. This man would be a deadly foe in battle.

Quickly clearing his mind of such foolish thoughts, Ibiki swiftly crossed the room and sat down. He ruffled though Emerald's paperwork while collecting his thoughts. '_Emerald_. Shit! This is freaking unbelievable! Get it together Morino!' he inwardly snarled to himself. Reigning in his composure (mentally that is), he began the interview.

"Good afternoon. My name is Ibiki Morino and I am here to conduct your entry interview to Konoha. If you don't feel like answering the question, simple state that you decline answering. Do **not** attempt to lie to me. Understand?" Ibiki growled ominously, staring intently at Emerald.. '_No, damn it!_'…. Mr. Hadrian James Romulus Potter Black in front of him.

Harry was quite puzzled at this moment of time. His magic was positively purring underneath his skin as he looked upon the scarred yet darkly handsome visage of the shinobi. '_Warrior_' his magic seemed to whispered and Harry had to agree. Mr. Morino's uniform clearly defined his well toned 6'1 muscular body. His silent entrance into the room portrayed the image of a sleek, deadly predator. And his voice. 'Oh Merlin, his voice!' inner Harry wailed in delight. It was rich, dark, and sensually delicious to his ears.

This interview had just become absurdly difficult.

'_Shit!_' a jounin and a wizard thought at the same time.

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Thank you for reading my story! Please review!

Created and posted: 1/22/13. Reviewed and revised: 01/22/13

Special thanks to liluka and Vahinepapaya for pointing out the plot holes sprinkled throughout my story. I hope I have filled some of them in and added more descriptive elements to the story as well.

I know the questions of why they chose Konoha, how the Goblins helped them, and what did they pack are left unanswered. They will hopefully be cleared when our expatriates put their house in order in the next chapter.


	3. Chapter 2 - Welcome Home!

Two Scarred Souls Heal Each Other

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Naruto. They belong to their respective authors and publishing/media companies.

Warning: Yaoi/Slash. Harry/Ibiki. Please don't read if its not your cup of tea.

Author's Notes: I am very sorry to disappoint several of my readers but the Interrogation is not being written into the story. It is mentioned and discussed so often that I didn't want to have to continuously repeat it. Sorry! I hope you still enjoy this chapter though. Once this story is completed I may add it as a side story or oneshot.

Warning - this is a long chapter. A loooong chapter. It refused to be compacted or rushed.

Please keep voting for Hermione's pairing. The winner will definitely be her love interest!

A big Thank You to all my wonderful reviewers: your little words of encouragement and appreciation are a major source of motivation! The swift updates are all because of you guys!

Props to my partners in crime: latte2 and Manriq203. We attack the world at dawn, chicas. Be ready!

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Chapter 2: Welcome home!

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**Konoha, Fire Country **

Harry walked out of the detainment room on unsteady legs, feeling unbalanced and disturbed. The tumultuous movements of his magic underneath his skin were definitely not helping him in regaining his inner tranquility. Lamentably, the interview played havoc on his mind and ran roughshod over his emotions. Harry found it difficult to answer all the man's questions truthfully without revealing any of the siblings' closely guarded secrets. Mr. Morino's subtle maneuvering to uncover the facets of their 'bloodline' made him extremely nervous, almost to the point of paranoia. He could not fathom how they even found out about their magic! 'Bloodline? They're classifying it as a bloodline?' Harry questioned to himself. He was very worried about the effects this bloodline label would have on their stay in Konoha. The wizard was determined to sit down and discuss his interrogation and that issue with Hermione, as soon as they were in a secured setting.

'Maybe she can even help me figure out why my magic is acting wonky?' he thought anxiously. Harry was feeling slightly distressed over the sensations that his magic projected during the interview. He was used to his magic feeling strongly protective, angry, or even sad, especially with the war and the subsequent events that occurred afterwards. However, he had never felt his magic act…..cuddly, for a lack of a better word. And it was definitely _cuddly_ towards Mr. Morino! A faint tinge of mortification over his magic's actions in the room still lingered in his blood. It was reflected in the light blush that adorned his cheeks as he wobbled closer to Hermione, who he saw just up ahead.

Hermione was sitting on a wooden bench that lined the wall at the end of the hallway. She appeared to be having an affable conversation with a male shinobi. The man wore a green vest on top of a long sleeved blue shirt with matching blue pants. His brown hair was pulled into a ponytail, and he had a gentle but expressive look on his face, which was lightly crossed by a scar that ran sideways over his nose. He gestured animatedly with one hand as he conversed with Hermione. Perched on the bench's arm, Hedwig moved her head up and down, side to side, as she followed the man's hand with her amber gaze. It was a silent game in which only she knew the rules to. Noticing the actions of his snowy owl, Harry moved quicker in desperation to prevent an incident like the one that occurred in front of Konoha's city gates.

"Hermione!" he cried out and announced his presence. He gained the attention of his sister, the shinobi and, more importantly, his unpredictable white owl who hooted a soft greeting before flying to his shoulder and resuming her customary spot. Harry petted her gently as he walked closer to the duo that stood up as he drawled near.

"Hi Harry!" Hermione greeted before nodding her head towards the unidentified shinobi. "This is Iruka. He was explaining the different levels of missions that civilians can request from the shinobi. What do you think about requesting a D mission from the Mission Room? A genin team will guide us around Konoha, help us buy supplies, show us a real estate office, and even help us clean up our new house once we buy it!" she exclaimed.

"What is a genin team?" questioned her confused brother, head tilted to the side which was mimicked perfectly by Hedwig a second later.

"Uhmm….If I may?" Iruka intervened, staring at the man and owl before looking briefly at Hermione. After an acquiescing nod from her, he turned back to explain genin teams to a confused wizard. "Genin teams are triads of three young students who successfully completed their studies at the Shinobi Academy. They work and train under the mentorship of a Jounin sensei until they take and pass the Chunin exams. As genins, they are eligible to take missions ranging from D rank to A. The difference in ranking is due to the possible dangers a genin can encounter while completing the mission. Lower alphabetic rank equates lower danger levels."

A look of understanding crossed Harry's face. This was perfect. A way to safely explore Konoha, locate everything quickly and a chance to question natives all rolled into one. He nodded his head at Hermione and together they followed Iruka to the Mission Room to request the assistance of a genin team.

* * *

The siblings waited patiently inside the Mission Room for their genin team to arrive. The Mission Room was a large room which mostly consisted of a large wooden reception table that almost spanned the length of a wall. The usage of wood paneling continued in the room which matched the wooden floors perfectly. Two chunins were efficiently working at the desk; quickly organizing mission scrolls and filing them in the room located though a doorway behind the desk. Iruka had helped them complete their mission request forms and assured them that a genin team would be available soon.

After a few minutes had passed, a slim woman of average height walked through the door. She had bright red eyes and was uniquely dressed in a revealing short red and white stripped top paired with black shorts. Following her into the room were three widely different youths. One was a tall and stoic male adolescent dressed in a long green jacket who was an extreme contrast in comparison to the feral-looking energetic male teen with a white puppy sitting on his head underneath a furred hood of a gray parka. Lastly, there was a young female teenager who nervously pointed her two index fingers together, while she awkwardly waited, clothed in an overly large beige jacket over black Capri pants.

The red eyed woman walked over and introduced herself to the witch and wizard. "Hi. My name is Kurenai and I am the Jounin sensei for Team Eight. This is Kiba, Shino, and Hinata, my genins" she said as she gestured to the teenagers who waved or nodded as their names were called out. A bark sounded from the pup on the newly identified Kiba's head. "And Akamaru, too". she corrected.

"Hello. My name is Hermione. This is my brother Harry and his owl, Hedwig. Pleased to meet you." Hermione responded. Harry nodded briefly as Hedwig greeted the shinobi with a hoot.

"Cool. You're the dude with the pretty owl!" Kiba shouted as he bounced over to get a closer look at Hedwig.

"Hoot" regaled the fore mentioned owl as she stood up straighter, always willing to meet her fans. The poor young boy had a dog on his head. A _dog_. Poor, poor boy. The fleas must be dreadful!

"Wow! I can see why everybody is talking about her." stated Kiba. Apparently, his attention on another animal distressed Akamaru because the pup started to whine and paw his partner's head.

"Ah, Akamaru. Don't worry boy. She's not as awesome as you are!" he said lovingly to his nin-dog.

'Uh oh.' thought a witch and wizard.

Hedwig's amber eyes took on a menacing gleam as she looked upon that horrid little boy, whom she promptly demoted from fan to hooligan. Did he just considered a dog better than her? _Her!_

"Ah." stammered Harry nervously. He had a feeling Hedwig was up to her usual antics. "Well, let us be on our way, shall we!" Quickly he grabbed Hermione's hand and began pulling her earnestly through the door. "Plenty of things to do, supplies to buy, and people to meet. It wouldn't do to dawdle, now would it?" he called out over his shoulder as he rushed to the exit of the Hokage's Tower.

Large amber eyes peered backwards to stare intently at Team 8 who hurriedly followed them out the building. Hedwig's plans may have been delayed by her wizard, but she could be patient. Oh yes, she could! Her Harry's rude uncle learned that lesson the hard way. Lock her up in a cage, indeed. That brand new shiny car of his got the Hedwig Special, with a bit of assistance from her fellow feathery friends. Rude Uncle never saw it coming. After all, revenge is a dish best served cold.

She'll get that flea boy and his little dog too!

* * *

Harry collapsed facedown onto his bed in the double bed hotel room that the siblings had rented for the night. It was a modest hotel that was highly recommended by Kurenai who assured them it was popular with most of the merchants due to its affordable rates and excellent services. The bed was certainly soft with its plush blue comforter and goose downy pillows. Overall, an excellent bed which was fantastic because he was almost tired enough to be bone weary. According to the clock on the bedside table, it was only 8 o'clock at night though Harry would adamantly claim it was far later. Traveling from one country to another tends to knock one's inner clock a skewed.

Hermione bustled around the hotel room as she laid out their earlier purchases in an orderly manner in preparation to place them in their appropriate trunks. Today was certainly a day of discovery. The bookstores offered a wide range of subjects, though she avoided the orange books after Kurenai delicately informed her that they were "inappropriate and disgusting novels that barely qualified as literature, and should never be present before the innocent eyes of children." as she kept an eagle eye on the location of her genins. Embarrassed, Hermione decided to focus on the books with information on shinobi, chakra, and summon animals. She was still interested in discovering how summon animals related to Hedwig. However, she was most surprised by a few books which discussed a rare discipline called Fuujin – The Art of Sealing. It looked remarkably similar to Runes. The young witch couldn't wait to compare and contrast the two subjects.

She organized her books in the library trunk before turning her attention to the numerous bags of kimonos that Harry bought in a shopping blitzkrieg. It was very humorous that he referred to the kimonos as Konoha robes. It completely puzzled the shop keepers and kept Kiba baffled when he continuously tried to correct Harry. Hermione was still stunned that he bought so many since he never seemed fashionably inclined while in the Wizarding World. 'Of course its hard to be stylish in cumbersome black robes, all day and every day.' she thought. 'Huh. Now it makes sense. Years of Hogwarts' uniforms and clothes from the House of Dursley would leave anybody desperately wanting to try something new. Plus, he looks gorgeous in kimonos so it's a win-win situation all around.' Without a doubt, Harry was a stylish picture in traditional Japanese attire. Kurenai and ,shockingly, Hinata had a delightful time dressing him up like a grown up doll.

Her inner thoughts were disrupted when she heard a plaintive cry of "Hermione!" that was slightly muffled due to be spoken through a pillow. Rising from beside Harry's personal trunk, she strolled over and laid down beside the wizard on his bed. Staring at the ceiling and its thick wooden beams, she calmly waited for her brother to tell her about what was bothering him. She could sense he had something weighing on his mind all day long. Understandably, she was faintly shocked when the first thing he said was completely flabbergasting.

"My magic is acting cuddly." revealed Harry, with his head barely turned sideways on his pillow.

"Excuse me? Your magic is what?" asked his sister, not really comprehending the conversation.

Sighing heavily, the wizard sat up from his comfortable position. Sitting cross legged with his head propped on one hand, he looked directly at his best friend and stated seriously "My magic is acting _cuddly_."

"Okay. Describe this cuddly and why it's a problem?" She blinked her eyes twice as her mind scanned for any relevant information regarding symptoms for magical core irregularities.

"During the interrogation with Ibiki Morino, which went horribly by the way, it acted like it purred and wanted to cuddly with the bloody man!"

Hermione's mind temporarily went blank with the words 'purred' and 'cuddly' until it jumpstarted with a sudden realization, "What do you mean the interrogation went horribly? What went wrong?" she demanded.

"Everything! Well not everything." he denied. "It started fine. He asked the usual questions in the beginning. You know. What is your name? What are your intentions in Konoha? And blah blah blah. It was the questions regarding our supposed 'bloodline' that tripped me up. And my wonky magic. And my interrogator. Other than that, nothing to horrible."

Bloodline? Magic?Wait….."The interrogator?" She quickly sat up and grabbed one of her brother's hands. "Did he do something? Did he do something to you?" she asked frantically as her other hand reached for her wand, ready to deliver vengeance if needed.

"What? NO! He was…..and that walk..…plus his voice was….Urgh! Wonky! Cuddly magic! Focus, Hermione!" he spluttered before jumping up to pace in the room, desperately trying to hide a blush. Predictably, he failed. Pale British complexion betrayed him every time.

Hermione quickly noticed the blush that he tried to hide. Tilting her head sideways, she tapped a finger on her lips as an ideal formed in her mind: a delicious, delightful, and oh so fabulous ideal. Slowly, a devilish smirk grew on her lips. "Harry," she singed, "do you have a crush?" When Harry's blush went super nova, she burst into delighted giggles. Finally! After all these years, he was finally attracted to somebody. Mwa ha ha!

Harry quickly spun around after hearing Hermione's unbelievable question. "Are you serious? What are you? Like five?! Really a crush, Hermione? As if! Sure he may be darkly handsome….And those two scars on his face make me want to kiss them… Or his voice turns me into a puddle of goo. And maybe, just maybe, that my magic liking him made me curious and now I want to know everything about him! That does not make it a crush!" he shouted triumphantly, one arm raised in the air, pointing upwards in a victory pose. Upon seeing the incredulous and hysterical look on Hermione's face, he mentally reviewed everything he just shouted. "Why did I just say all of that out loud?" he mumbled, honestly bewildered by his recent behavior.

Hermione could not bear the pressure any longer. She burst into hysterical peals of laughter, tearing rolling down her face, and a sharp pain in her side. The witch was extremely relieved that the 'cuddly' magic issue was a simple crush and took it as a sign that moving to Konoha was a fantastic new start for them. Even a pillow smacking her squarely in her face didn't abate her relieved hysteria. Of course, she retaliated with a pillow lob of her own. It quickly escalated into a full out brawl with goose downy as the weapon of choice.

Hedwig fluttered from the window still to the safety of the top of the room's tall armoire. Her golden eyes watched the joyful actions of the brother and sister. It was good to see them enjoying themselves so freely after such a long time. But as feathers erupted from damaged pillows, she barked in protest of the waste of perfectly good feathers. Humans_._

* * *

Harry and Hermione examined the large house that the realtor was showing them. Early in the morning, they went to the offices of Konoha Real Estate to succor a home for them. Apparently, the goblins had influence all around the world and the hidden ninja continent weren't an exception. With their new Platinum accounts at the Financial Institute of Fire Country and branch accounts at the Bank of Konoha, the Potter-Black found themselves as highly valued customers to the realtors. It took a pointed and blunt discussion before the realtor acquiesced to their demands to see a property with large grounds rather than a grandiose townhouse or a gaudy city mansion.

The realtor explained the house used to belong to an affluent family that moved to the Capital more than a decade ago. Recently, the father passed away and the children decided to sell the old family compound rather than keep it. Despite its state of disrepair and neglect, both siblings could see the potential. Plus, magic meant home improvement wouldn't pose a problem.

It was a large manor, complete with two floors, a basement, and an attic. Its ground floor consisted of the typical plethora of rooms such as the kitchen, dining, living, study, family, and sun room. Hermione liked its simple entrance hall and the overall size of each room. 'A few expansion charms here and there would do nicely' she decided. As one of the cooks in the family (Dobby being the other), Harry knew the kitchen and pantry were going to need a complete renovation. The spacious backyard could easily support a garden and greenhouse while maintaining enough room for relaxing and cookouts.

Traveling up the sturdy staircase, they took a quick perusal of the upstairs five bedrooms and three bathrooms. They were surprised to find two master suites,similar to the ones in Grimmauld House. After a quick conference, Harry forced Hermione to take the larger master suite due to fact she could convert its adjourning sitting room into a personal study/library room. He much preferred the smaller master suite due to its view of the backyard and its balcony that Hedwig could easily enter and exit from.

Realizing their argument over the master suites meant they were going to purchase the house, they went back downstairs to haggle the purchase price with the realtor. The ending price came out to a fee of roughly 35,000 gallons which they considered to be a bargain for the compound of the large manor, three surrounding small buildings, and over 5 acres of property. The fact it was conveniently enclosed by brick walls with sturdy gates was a delightful surprise. Apparently, people in Konoha typically use brick walls as fences to signify private property so ninjas wouldn't mistakenly use their lands as training grounds. Minutes later, they watched the realtor leave happily with the signed paperwork and authorization for the money transfer. Hermione and Harry rolled up their sleeves and pulled out their wands to do some serious casting of spells and charms.

Harry subtly flicked his wand and cased a proximity and security ward. After verifying nobody was nearby or spying on them, Hermione and Harry worked in tandem to set up the first layer of wards: proximity ward, notice-me-not ward, harmful intent repelling ward, pest control wards, and identifying ward. Pausing to regain their breaths, Hermione reached into her pocket to remove a two-way compact mirror. She handed Harry her trunks to be resized and enlarged while she opened communications in her mirror. Minutes later, just as the last trunk regained its original size, a large group arrived in the living room with a loud popping sound.

Standing in the dusty room was a group of sneering goblins, a dozen house elves, one bouncing Dobby, and a cantankerous half-kneazle named Crookshank. The house elves were there to assist in cleaning and fixing the house while the goblins arrived to help ward and magically renovate the property. Few people realized that goblins were master architectures and builders. Their expertise was available for the right price, of course. Harry nodded politely to the goblins and knelt down on one knee to greet an ecstatic Dobby.

"Hi Dobby! Was the trip okay?" he asked the beaming house-elf who was happily hugging his knee.

"Oh yes, Harry Potter sir. Dobby is fine. He is readies to works!" squeaked the house elf while his fellow houses elves squealed in agreement to his sentiments and crowded closer, eagerly waiting for instructions.

Seeing the mob forming around the wizard, Hermione cleared her throat and rapidly began issuing orders. Quickly, she directed three elves upstairs to clean, dust, and repair the bedrooms and bathrooms. Two elves were sent outside to wrestle order to the wild vegetation, plot a spot for the garden, and clear an area for the greenhouse. Another two elves a piece to clean, dust, and repair the attic and basement. Lastly, the remaining three will help paint the walls and varnish the wooden floors as rooms became presentable. With the dozen house elves dispatched to complete their assignments, the witch turned her attention of a despondent Dobby.

"Well, Dobby. Let us go to the kitchen, shall we. The whole thing needs to be renovated." she announced to the newly energized house elf.

They departed the room with Crookshank stalking behind them, and left Harry to the company of the goblins. After greeting and introducing each member of the party, the goblins and wizard descended down a concealed staircase into the basement.

"Okay, Griphook. How do you want to proceed with this?" he queried, gesturing vaguely at the packages the goblins were carrying. Four of the goblins held large square cuts of obsidian to use as the cornerstones for the property's wards. Griphook, himself, held a carefully wrapped, perfectly circular, enormous moonstone that would be the wards' hearthstone. Carefully unwrapping the moonstone, he laid it gently on a conjured pedestal that Harry created mere seconds earlier. Runes were carved all over the moonstone's surface. Each rune corresponded to the runes on the obsidian stones and would ensure the wards were fully powered and maintained optimal strength.

Harry poured a vial of combined blood (Harry's and Hermione's) onto the moonstone and concentrated on maintaining a steady stream of magic to be woven into and around the ward stones. The goblins moved into a five point star shape to begin the process of ensuring the best possible wards for the home of the Potter-Black siblings. With their status as friends to the Goblin Nation, the goblins would not fail in this endeavor. With ease and expertise born from years of experience, they quickly powered the ward stones and magically connected the stones with the house and property. The four obsidian cornerstones and hearthstone were buried into their correct spaces and the wards flared into life. With the magic donated from Harry, the wards would eventually gain semi-sentience over time. All in all, it was a very strong and impressive array of wards so the wizard and goblins were very pleased.

Later that night, the Potter-Blacks were slumped tiredly onto the couches in the living room. It was an exhausting day, but they were pleased with the fruits of their labor. The entire manor gleamed with life and renewal. The wooden floors were sanded and varnished with a glossy sealant. The walls were freshly painted, mostly in earthy and neutral tones. Several walls were removed to give the house a more open floor plan. Only the study, library, and sun room maintained their privacy with separately enclosed spaces. Plush rugs and runners were placed everywhere, grounding the furniture and providing softness to bare/socked feet. Previously purchased furniture and decorations were placed throughout the house along with several antiques and items from the Potter Vault. When he saw the myriad of items his ancestors had stored in the Family Vault, Harry declared he came from a long line of hoarders.

Earlier, they were indecisive about how to best utilize the attic and basement. They eventually decided to use the basement as a magical library, a potions lab, and a large training facility. Thus the basement needed stronger wards that prevented spell damage or explosions while maintaining a silencing spell and ventilation ward. An alert system to signify injuries or accidents was pierced together quickly by the goblins. All old, antique, obsure, and magical tomes were placed in the basement library's countless shelves and then a specialized fidelius charm was cast to prevent anybody from discovering the secret room of books. Hermione volunteered to later organize the potion lab and their entire stock of potions and ingredients. Currently the attic was only partially converted. A small owlery was built for visiting owls and Hedwig when she wanted some alone time. In addition, Dobby's living quarters were customized in a section of the top floor. Dobby cried tears of delight as his quarters were built. The remainder of the attic will be used as storage space unless needed in the future.

As the brother and sister climbed wearily to their feet to retire for the evening, they noticed the absence of their familiars. Harry tapped into the wards to locate their wayward pets and was surprised when it revealed they were outside. Walking to the back entrance that led to the private backyard, they quickly spotted their familiars. In a tree that bordered their newly created pond, Hedwig dozed on a branch while Crookshank was sleeping at the base of the tree. The carnage of their gluttonous feast littered the ground and gave evidence to their gleeful annihilation of their shared prey.

After banishing the remains, Harry turned to Hermione. "I think putting fish in the pond was a bad idea." he declared.

Given the sheer amount of fish remnants they just banished, his sister had to agree.

* * *

While the Potter-Black Manor was being renovated, Ibiki was presenting his final report of the siblings to Lady Tsunade (Konoha's Hokage) and the Council. It was a full inquiry due to the Potter-Blacks' economic status and potential bloodline status in Konoha. The head of the Torture and Interrogation Division had assembled a comprehensive report based upon their interviews, activities, and statements gathered from shinobi who had contact with them. He was leery to using the information from a genin named Kiba, due to his ludicrous declarations that the owl, Hedwig, was out to get him. Ridiculous

He calmly stood in front of Lady Hokage while she and the rest of the council read his report. He knew a barrage of questions was about to be leveled his way. Predictably, the first to start the furor was the greedy civilians of the council.

"It says here that the siblings have Platinum accounts at the Financial Institute. Exactly how much money does this mean?" asked a merchant, mentally salivating and plotting how to get his hands on that fortune. He had a son who was of marriageable age.

'Pig' Ibiki thought before he responded. "Exact amount is unknown at this time. However, only accounts easily over a million can be given Platinum distinctions."

He noticed the looks of distaste the shinobi clan heads directed towards their civilian counterparts. Easily understandable since the majority of the clans qualified for Platinum status too.

"Disregarding their wealth, what are their plans while they live in Konoha?" inquired Homura, as he pushed his glasses up. Homura was a senior councilman and a political advisor to the Hokage.

"Not definitive at this time. Hermione Potter-Black mentioned the possibilities of opening a business during her interview. However, her brother, Hadrian, discussed no plans beyond buying and renovating a house" replied Ibiki.

"Did you encounter anything unusual when interviewing the siblings?" questioned Shikaku Nara, head of the Nara Clan. In addition, he was the Head Strategist and Commander of the Jounin shinobi.

Ibiki's indecisiveness before answering the question was only noticed by the Nara head, the Hokage, and Danzo, another senior councilman.

"No sir. Both siblings represent no threat to the safety and citizens of the village. Their unique chakra-ish abilities may prove valuable over time. Not surprisingly they did not display any unusual abilities when present before Chunin Iruka Umino or genin Team 8 which consisted of Jounin Kurenai and genins Shino, Hinata, and Kiba. However, Genin Kiba is adamant that the owl companion has extreme negative feelings for him and made repeated references to a 'scat' attack." Ibiki felt awkward reporting the perceived intentions of an owl, but any hostility and possible threat had to be reported.

Kiba's mother, Tsume Inuzuka, howled in laughter when she heard that last statement. The soft chuckles from her nin-dog partner, Kuromaru, accompanied his mistress's sounds of amusement. The young pup was going to be horrifically teased when they returned home after this meeting. Her daughter, Hana, would be delighted to hear about this news along with the rest of the clan. Scared of an owl. Priceless!

The rampant amusement of the Inuzuka pair worked to defuse the slight tension that was building in the room. Realizing the rest of the meeting would only involve the Potter-Black's fortune and she had much better things to do than indulging the gossip of the useless civilian council members, Tsunade dismissed the Council and gestured for Shikaku Nara, Inoichi Yamanaka (leader of the Yamanaka Clan and previous Head of the Torture and Interrogation Department), and Ibiki to follow her into the Hokage's Office. The rest of the council left the room with Tsume in the lead as she cackled and sprinted out the door.

After sitting comfortably behind her desk, Tsunade leaned forward and regarded Ibiki with a stern expression. "Spill." she commanded.

Shikaku and Inoichi gave their full attention to Ibiki as well. Nobody gave any notice to Shizune, the Hokage's apprentice and personal assistant, as she entered the room with tea and Tonton, the Hokage's pet pig, trotting behind her.

"Regarding what, Lady Tsunade?" Ibiki fervently hoped to delay the inevitable.

"What was the unusual occurrence that happened during your interrogation with Hadrian Potter-Black that you couldn't reveal to the full council?" she demanded.

"It is a personal matter and has no significance on the meeting." he replied stiffly.

'Personal matters?' was the thought that everybody in the room had. A light of unholy curiosity began to burn in Tsunade's and Inoichi's eyes. In the hidden language of shinobi personal matters translated into personal feelings and emotions. What kind of personal feelings could Ibiki have for Potter-Black? After all, they only met for a few minutes? …..Ah ha!

A sly expression graced Tsunade's face as she regarded Ibiki intently. "Well, the lack of information on their bloodline is worrisome. I want you to personally observe the siblings and compile your findings. You are not spying, per say, so detailed reports are definitely not needed. Just get to know them better." she finished with a regal wave of one of her hands. This should be wonderfully entertaining! She couldn't wait to meet the man that piqued Ibiki's attention.

Ibiki was feeling rather conflicted. He did want to know more about Hadrian but certainly not by the orders of his Hokage. But her orders meant he could get closer to the man without being unduly hassled by certain people …like Anko. He shuddered to think what her reaction would be to his supposedly 'interest' in another person. Horrifying thought.

Banishing those thoughts to a small dark corner in his mind, he nodded in affirmation to the Hokage and stalked out the room.

After Ibiki left, Shikaku turned back to the Hokage. "Turning into a matchmaker now?" he drolly questioned. Witnessing the laughter of his hokage and answering amusement from his best friend regarding the love life of Inoichi's previous apprentice, the Nara clan head sighed heavily.

"Troublesome."

* * *

Thank you for reading my story. Please review!

Posted: 01/26/13. Chapter 3/10. Currently - 5,511 words.

AN2: Bonzai! Another update. It took three days to write this chapter. Luckily this story is basically writing itself, I'm just along for the ride!

More Konoha shinobi was introduced and the alliance of pets in forming. A lot of descriptions were added into the mix so my apologizes to those of you who are familiar with the World of Naruto. I hope you enjoyed this chapter anyways.

Once again, critiques and constructive criticism is warmly welcomed. Be honest! I hope to be a published author one day so I sincerely appreciate anything and everything that will help me in this endeavor.


	4. Chapter 3 - Now Opened for Business

Two Scarred Souls Heal Each Other

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Naruto. They belong to their respective authors and publishing/media companies.

Warning: Yaoi/Slash. Harry/Ibiki. Please don't read if its not your cup of tea.

Shout outs to my marvelous beta: latte2

Author's Notes: Please vote for Hermione's pairing in the poll on my profile page! The voting will end five days after this chapter is posted. Thank you!

Thank you to all my readers and reviewers. Your pm's and reviews are a daily source of motivation. Thanks a million for sticking with me!

Enjoy!

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Chapter 3: Now Opened for Business

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**Konoha, Fire Country**

Harry gradually woke up the next morning, feeling gentle tugging sensations that disrupted his slumber. Blearily, he pried his eyes halfway open to see Hedwig with a strand of his hair in her beak. After tugging his hair one last time, she released the captive strand and gave a soft chastising bark to her wizard in admonishment for taking so long to rouse out of sleep. Smiling faintly, Harry gave his familiar a scratch by her right ear and a soft morning greeting. He tossed back his grey-blue comforter and rose from his bed. Padding softly over to his suite bathroom, he groggily got ready for the day. Meanwhile, Hedwig flew out of the room, via the balcony, and left to continue her reign of terror upon the helpless and delicious denizens of the fish pond.

After a long shower, Harry quickly got dressed in a grey kimono and went downstairs to join his sister in the newly renovated kitchen for breakfast. He took a moment to admire the dark stained cabinets, gleaming stone countertops, and industrial stainless steel appliances. The wizard gave a silent acknowledgment to the goblin's craftsmanship; their renovation work was impeccable. He greeted Hermione and happily accepted a plate of food from an energetic Dobby before sitting down at the countertop onto a barstool in front of a preoccupied witch. After sipping his tea and taking a quick bite of food, he directed his rapt attention towards his best friend as he continued to enjoy his breakfast.

Hermione was furiously scribbling notes on a piece of parchment. She made one last note and nodded in decisiveness. 'Here it come.' contemplated an amused wizard. Hermione in Hermione Mode always led to unexpected adventures and quests. To Harry, it was a continuous source of private amusement that he was regarded as the trouble seeking member of the ex-golden trio. He mentally snorted at the blind perception of sheep. It's always the quiet ones…

"I think we should open a business." declared the intelligent witch.

'And Boom! She strikes again!' Harry stared incredulously at her. "Excuse me?"

"I think we should open a business." she repeated.

"Why? For Merlin's sake, we just moved here, Hermione! What business could we possible run anyways?" he questioned, even though he knew he was going to lose this argument. Again. 'When was the last time I won an argument?' he thought to himself.

A delicate frown crossed Hermione's face and she looked earnestly at her brother. "Harry, I have put a lot of thought into this. Yes, we did just move here. Now what? More renovations? More cleaning? Dobby would lock us both out of the house! Furthermore, you know neither one of us can stand doing nothing for days at a time. We would drive each other crazy!"

She tapped her parchment paper before continuing her argument. "More importantly, you and I are in a precarious position right now. This 'bloodline' business may cause problems in the future. So, we need to become valuable members of the community. That way when the trouble arises, we will be in a defendable position and hopefully able to deal with it before it becomes a major issue." she concluded.

"So…you basically want to open a business so we won't be bored and make allies at the same time?" he clarified.

"Yes."

"Okay then. What type business did you have in mind?"

After another round of discussions, they decided to open an unusual combination of an apothecary and café, ironically naming it ….the Apothecary Café. Hermione and Harry decided to use their potion and herbology knowledge to make and sell an assortment of salves, ointments, and herbal teas to the public. The products would not be dramatic like a skelegrow potion but subtle like bruise creams, scar ointments, and muscle relaxants. Simple, effective and more importantly, reasonably better than the current market items without being miracle cures.

They were going to exploit their British heritage by offering a wide selection of teas from their homeland. In addition, some of the teas will be the dried herbal versions of milder potions such as a hangover cure, energy renewal, and a headache potion. Once again, they were going for effective but non-miracle potions. Dried herb potions used to be common but fell out of practice and popularity because liquid vial potions were easier to administer and therefore faster acting. Plus, the creation of stasis charms/rune sequences ensured the contents of glass vials would last longer and became less inclined to spoil. Harry found it ironic that dried herb potions tasted vastly superior to vial potions due to their ability to magically dissolve in tea. He would have happily drunk any tea from Madame Pomphrey than take any of the vile concoctions forced down his throat during his numerous stays at Hogwarts' Infirmary. Luckily, the siblings uncovered a plethora of obscure and old potion books in the Potter and Black library to use. With her excellent memory and deduction skills, Hermione will be in charge of the teas even though Harry will be helping to make the herbal potions and growing the plants.

A large selection of pastries and light food would be sold to accompany the teas, especially the medicinal teas that recommend eating food with their usage. The café aspect will be Harry's domain. When he was younger, his aunt enrolled him in numerous cooking classes in the efforts to further his cooking skills and ensure higher quality food to impress her 'friends' and Vernon's business guests. Regardless of her pretentious reasons, Petunia's actions resulted in Harry's cooking skills rising from mediocre to extraordinary as he was a natural cook and thrived under actually instructions rather than a recipe from a cookbook. Harry grew to love cooking as hours spent on elaborate meals meant less time being forced to do other hated chores like weeding. If the café became popular, they may expand to serving lunch and dinner. However, Harry only wanted a revolving menu that would allow him to cook whatever he felt like cooking. Years of meal selections being dictated to him at the Dursley left him stubbornly against following a set and predictable menu. Hermione completely agreed to Harry's stipulations because she was well aware that his childhood had left numerous mental and physical scars on her brother.

A greenhouse would be devoted to growing herbs needed to sell in their shop too. Dobby volunteered to pop all over the elemental country to retrieve rare herbs and plants too. House elves possessed unique magic that allowed them to travel distances easily to serve their masters plus their magic was refined to allow them to maintain invisibility due to generations of being unseen servants in Pureblood households. Harry and Hermione tried to dissuade the little elf, but Dobby was determined to help his masters and he also did not want be bored at home when they left for work each day. Upon realizing they couldn't make him change his mind, Hermione and Harry made the house elf promise to take every precaution necessary and to never be seen by anybody. In addition, the siblings demanded to pay him a fair share of the profits from each sold plant/herb that he gathered.

The remainder of their supplies could easily be purchased from the goblins. Before leaving, the siblings bought four expensive pairs of vanishing trunks from Knockturn Alley. The vanishing trunks worked similar to vanishing cabinets in the fact that a pair was connected only to each other. Unlike cabinets, people were unable to use the trunks to travel. On trunk was shrunken to a shoe box size and was placed in the right corner of Harry's desk in the study. It was a communication box which would allow letters and presents to be quickly exchanged between themselves and the Marauders.

Currently only one trunk was at normal size and it was in operations with its brother trunk in Griphook's office. They left a trunk with Griphook so they could exchange communication easily without it being traced. While they did not give their specific destination to their friends, the siblings gave them a mailbox address. Gringotts would forward their mail from the box and deliver their replies for them. In addition, the trunk would allow them to be order provisions (specifically potions) through the bank. Money from their purchases would be taken out of their vaults, along with a finder's fee to the goblin. Due to the mutual profit involved, each party was satisfied with this arrangement. This service was only available as courtesy to them due to their status as Goblin Friends.

Finally after an hour spent on arguing, lecturing, and debating with one another (and Dobby!), the siblings were very happy with their business plan for Apothecary Café. Struck with a sudden apprehension, Harry turned large earnest puppy eyes at his sister who regarded him suspiciously.

"What Harry?" she asked, steeling her will against the dreaded eyes of doom.

"Hermione," he began, purposely injecting a wobble into his voice, "you know I love you right?"

'Oh Merlin! He's really not pulling his punches.' was her inner contemplation as she watched his lower lip began to tremble and tears glisten in his eyes. She nodded her head slowly. "Yes and I love you too."

"So you'll deal with the scary realtors by yourself, right?" came the piteous plea from the green eyed wizard.

"You're going, Harry!" sternly rebuked the exasperated witch. It was followed by a vicious glare for even attempting to feed her to the salivating realtor wolves.

"Damn!"

* * *

Harry shook silently as he tried to shake off the horror that was a mercenary realtor hell bent on a lucrative commission. He gave an affronted glare at his unrepentant nemesis that was walking slowly around their new shop. Their future business was a modest two story dwelling. According to the real estate piranha, it used to be a barbeque restaurant until the owners expanded into a larger building three blocks over. Fortunately, it was in much better shape than the house. The walls needed a fresh coat of paint and the floors only needed to be retouched. Of course, they had to refurnish the entire dining area and kitchen as everything was completely bare. Even the light fixtures were taken when the business moved to a new location.

Hermione walked around the main floor as she made a list regarding everything they would need, while simultaneously ignoring her cutely pouting younger brother. He was quite oblivious that when it came to his loved ones, his intimidation was more adorable than threatening. She made a mental note to take pictures from her pensieve later to send to Remus and Sirius. Pouting Harry was too precious! Turning around abruptly, she walked back up to her brother.

"We are going to need to order a lot of furniture. This includes the display glasses for all the herbs, teas, and pastries. The appliances and kitchen equipment needs to be purchased as well. This may take one week to a month to get everything we need, depending on the suppliers. Now then, should we paint and redo the floors ourselves or hire somebody?" she reported briskly, tapping her pen against her notebook.

"Do it ourselves. We need to place runes on the walls and floor boards. It would be problematic if anyone else sees them and raises questions." he replied after a moment of contemplation.

"I thought so too. We are going to have to be extra careful with our wards. There are ninja clans that may be sensitive when it comes to magic, so the wards cannot be really powerful." she stated resolutely.

"Ah… We can use runes to ward against pests and help prevent fire. We'll claim the paint and glaze on the floor acts as a natural repellent and preventive barrier if anybody asks. Since you found out that seals and runes resemble each other, we will use runes to prevent thief and vandalisms too. We'll claim them as old family secrets which would be believable given the rumors of our wealth." he said after pondering the issue for a few moments.

"That should do it. We can't claim too many old family secrets or else we'll be scrutinized closely. But one or two family seals won't be too unbelievable" the witch agreed.

After looking the doors they departed to visit the various stores to order the necessities for their shop.

Two weeks later, the Apothecary Café was ready for its grand opening. On the first day when they went to order furniture, the Potter-Blacks accidently came upon an art gallery. In the gallery, they saw four sets of paintings. The duo quickly purchased the paintings and chose an elemental theme to decorate the cafe in. Each wall represented one of the elements and was painted to gradually show the transition of colors. The large framed painting of mythical creatures decorated the walls: colorful phoenixes captured in flight for air, dancing and happy fairies in a glade for earth, a gathering of beautiful and deadly dragons for fire, and graceful and playful mermaids for water. It was a fortuitous and lucky discovery to find the gorgeous paintings because it gave the café an "elegant and comfortable atmosphere that wasn't girly" to quote Harry.

Given Konoha's love of trees, finding the appropriate dining area tables and chairs wasn't hard at all. They eventually selected parson chairs with comfortable cushions and painted white. The tables were also painted white with glass tops over reproduced printed illustrations of mythical creatures. Against two of the walls, large glass showcases displayed their products, the plants/herbs separated into large glass jars that were carefully labeled. The cases were locked to prevent a five finger discount. In the back of the store ran a large glass pastry display counter that stood in front of the door that lead to the new kitchen. Above the large cutout and serving window to the kitchen, their menu hung proudly behind the pastry countertop. It was a large sliding blackboard with the teas written on one side and ample room to write the daily pastries and specials of the day on the other side.

Hermione and Harry moved energetically around the café. They checked and double checked everything to make sure it was ready for their grand opening at 8 am. Already, rumors had circulated around Konoha regarding their café. They had hired genin Team 10 to help them set up the glass cases with all their contents. Unfortunately, they were not aware that the innocent looking genin girl, with long blond hair and a fondness for purple, was an incurable gossip and very familiar with plants given her family's ownership of a flower store. Ino Yamanaka had rushed home that day and informed her intrigued parents (especially her father, Inoichi Yamanaka) about the various teas and rare herbs the Potter-Blacks were going to sell. Inoichi reported to the Hokage, who strongly debated using her Hokage powers to have a chance to buy various herbs earlier, while his wife regaled any interested florist customer about the dozens of new and unique teas the Apothecary Café would serve. Within days, the civilian and shinobi rumor mills had the name, Apothecary Café, well known amongst the population, much to the horror of the Potter-Blacks.

After one last look around, Harry left the front room to go into the kitchen to remove the last of the pastries and place them in the pastry case. For the grand opening, he cooked a wild variety of pastries: plain scones, scones with fruit, a wide variety of muffins, five different types of cakes, eight different pies, a multitude of tarts, and of course, his beloved treacle tarts. The scent of the pastries mixed pleasantly with the bread that was currently baking. Humming gently, he returned to the front of the store and stood behind the counter as Hermione bravely went to unlock the front door. Apothecary Café was officially opened for business.

* * *

Tsunade stared intently at the bruise cream that Shizune bought from the Apothecary Café earlier this morning. She had sent her assistant with an extensive list of herbs and plants to buy along with the demand to select two teas that seemed interesting. The Hokage wasn't prepared for Shizune to rush into the room, exclaiming wildly about how wonderful the café was. The tea she had brought back was certainly interesting, a Darjeeling Tea which tasted delicious with the berry tart.

However, the real prize laid in the salves and ointments that Shizune bought to share with her mentor. Tsunade skeptically tried the muscle relaxant crème on her tense neck muscles. Within seconds, the soothing heat felt wonderful on her neck. Buoyed by that discovery, she purposely gave herself a bruise and applied the bruise cream. Not surprisingly, the bruise cream worked just as well. She peered closely at the yellow looking crème and gave the oval container a curious sniff. It smelled pleasant and not the least bit medicinal. Now, her interest was definitely piqued. Time to meet Ibiki's mystery man!

"Shizune!" she hollered for her protégé. "Let head out to the Apothecary Café! I have some questions to ask the owners."

"Really! Oh, I can't wait to try more of their delicious tea. Maybe this time I will try that treacle tart. It looked so delicious." gushed Shizune as she dashed into the room and waited impatiently at the doorway.

Shizune…..not complaining about Tsunade abandoning her duties as Hokage and the damned pile of paperwork, that she could swear was _breeding_. 'I love Apothecary Café!' thought Tsunade as she fled her desk to leave her office.

Walking through the door, the Hokage suddenly came face to face with Shikaku Nara, who was just about to knock on her door. Seeing the look on the man's face, she questioned "Apothecary Café?"

A typical Nara sigh proceeded his lazy head nod. "A clansman paid me a visit and praised their products. He mentioned their medicinal teas and even had samples to share. I tried the energy renewal tea due to Yoshino's nagging, and damned if I don't feel energetic. Troublesome woman. However, the important part is that it replenished the chakra I used during morning training. Hokage, that tea could very well be an effective and less harmful version of a soldier pill."

Tsunade went completely still, honestly shocked by what Shikaku had just informed her. Soldier pills were used by most shinobi to replenish their energy and chakra for a limited amount of time. However, using too many soldier pills at once is extremely harmful to the shinobi's body and could prove fatal. If the Potter-Blacks had a _tea_ that could be a viable alternative for soldier pills, the impact would be significant in the shinobi corps.

"Go get Inoichi and Ibiki. We need to have a strong questioning session with the Potter-Blacks. They may or may not have products that could be of significant importance to us. Regardless, its worth an effort to find out at least." she ordered. With a quick nod, Shikaku left quickly to retrieve one member of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio and his protégé.

"Alright, Shizune. Let's go to that Café. I want to have a good look around so I can get a feel of the questions that we need to ask." With that, the master and student left the Hokage's Tower, determined to improve the lives of their shinobi.

* * *

The Slug Sannin stepped into the Apothecary Café. She was pleasantly surprised by the decoration theme, but it gave the café a nice atmosphere and caused it to stand out from its competition. Spotting the display cases, she quickly made a bee line towards them while Shizune eagerly went to the front counter to make an order. In the corner of her eyes, Tsunade took notice of the two siblings. She could definitely tell why Ibiki's interest was garnered on the young man. He certainly was an attractive picture, especially dressed in his dark green kimono.

Peering into the glass cases, she was completely shocked at the wide variety of herbs and plants they compiled in their store. Some of the plants were notoriously difficult to get. 'How the hell did they get them? Especially the ones from Water Country. Those damn Kiri-nins are a major pain in the ass when it comes to people poaching their precious medical herbs!' the Hokage thought in amazement. Already, she was mentally salivating over getting her hands on those rare herbs. The prices were so low too!

Hearing footsteps, she turned her attention to the approaching young lady with long curly brown hair. Hermione Potter-Black, if her memory served her correctly.

"Good afternoon, Lady Hokage. Is there anything I can help you with?" said Hermione with a polite smile on her face after she gave a respectful bow.

"Yes. I would like to purchase some herbs from you. I also heard you have an unusual collection of curative teas." she said, waving one hand vaguely at Shizune who was seating at a table and happily sipping rooibos tea while eating her treacle tart.

"Yes, Lady Hokage. We offer a wide range of medicinal teas ranging from headache relief to a hangover cure. If you can describe what symptoms you need treated, I can identity the right tea for you. We encourage all of our customers to try a cup of the tea before purchasing any of the medicinal teas." briefed Hermione to a very interested Hokage.

"Hangover cure?" queried the Senju Princess.

"That is a very popular restorative tea. The unique mixture of the herbs helps to alleviate most of the symptoms of a typical hangover. It can be purchased at 5 doses at a time." explained Hermione.

"How fascinating. I would like to to try the energizing tea that I have heard so much about" stated the Hokage.

"An excellent selection, Lady Hokage. Do you have a particular tea you would like the herbal remedy to be customized to?" asked Hermione as she turned and led the Hokage to the main counter for teas.

"Yes. I quite enjoyed the Darjeeling tea that Shizune brought earlier. Perhaps with a pastry?"

Ten minutes later, Tsunade sat with Shizune and felt wonderfully refreshed as she drank her Darjeeling energy tea with a scrumptious blueberry scone. Hearing the door open and feeling familiar chakra, she looked up to see Inoichi, Ibiki, and Shikaku walk into the café. Gaining their attention with a brief Chakra pulse, the last Senju watched the men walk over to their table while internally laughing over the numerous times Ibiki's heated eyes swept over Harry's form in its green kimono. She could tell Ibiki enthusiastically approved of Harry in traditional attire. Clearing her throat, the Hokage returned back to the matter at hand.

"I see what you were taking about Shikaku. This tea is fantastic." she truthfully stated as she watched the men take a seat at their table.

By this time, Hermione and Harry were staring intently at the table. Despite their customers not paying any attention to the five shinobi in a corner table, the Potter-Black siblings were well aware something import was occurring in their shop.

"I haven't been able to identify the mixture of herbs, Hokage-sama." Inoichi confessed. Shikaku had allowed his friend to examine a sample the Nara clan head received earlier. "A few was familiar but the rest was a complete mystery". He looked carefully around the café and made a mental note to bring his wife here for a breakfast date.

"Neither could I. Which is a complete surprise, given my medical knowledge." Tsunade was a legendary healer. She is even called the mother of modern medic nins.

"We need to see if the Potter-Blacks will tell us about the ingredients in the energy tea and fully test its effect. If it proves to be effective, we can recommend it" drawled Shikaku.

"Do they have any more curative teas that could increase the vitality of ninjas?" asked Inoichi.

"Hmmm, probably." replied his teammate.

"So we need to ask them about all their teas, herbs, and plants that can help us too." declared the florist.

"Ah…so who is going to ask them about it?" interjected Shizune.

Immediately all eyes swung to Ibiki. He glanced from face to face before a ferocious scowl crossed his expression. Without saying a word, he got out of his chair and stalked towards the siblings who stood apprehensively behind the counter.

Tsunade and Inoichi watched, vastly entertained, while Shizune and Shikaku exchanged looks of exasperation.

"Don't worry. Love would be good for him." declared Inoichi as he watched his ex-subordinate stop in front of the Potter-Blacks.

"And he has excellent taste in men." Tsunade punctuated her statement with a flourished wave of her tea cup.

* * *

Ibiki walked closer to Emerald, severely disliking the look of apprehension in his beautiful green eyes. The desire to eliminate that look was so great that the jounin decided to forgo any subtlety and quickly get to the point.

"Your energy tea could be greatly beneficial to the shinobi forces. We would like to know what ingredients are used in it, but not to unlock your tea's recipe. We wish to ensure that none of its ingredients are harmful to our ninja, especially ones from clans like the Aburame or Akimichi. In addition, we would like your input on any products, herbs, or teas that you have that could be useful to shinobi as well. The Hokage is prepared to offer a lucrative contract for your cooperation in this endeavor." Ibiki calmly recited. The effects were immediate.

Both of the siblings visibly relaxed after his first statement. A look of profound gratitude for being direct shone in Emerald's eye and made him feel a sense of pride. 'I've officially lost my damn mind.' thought Ibiki. It was official. Ibiki Morino was intensely attracted to Hadrian Potter-Black. His beauty gained his attention but it was his personality and mystique that reeled him in. Ibiki was slightly unnerved by self-doubts though. 'How in the world am I going to get his attention on me? He's an exotically beautiful man, and I am a scarred wreck of a shinobi.'

In his moment of uncertainty, he missed the pointed looks exchanged between the duo.

Hermione was beaming with happiness. This was perfect. It was a chance to cement their value and gain strong allies – the shinobi corp of Konoha. Not bad for two weeks worth of work. Plus, Harry gets to spend time with his cuddly magic man. Excellent!

Inoichi and Tsunade weren't the only matchmakers in the building. Hermione Jane Accalia Potter-Black had just crossed over to the dark side.

Her poor younger brother didn't stand a chance.

"Oh, my! This is so surprising. Of course we will be happy to help the shinobi corps. In fact, Harry can take you to the storeroom now. He would love to explain the ingredients we use in the energy renewal potion and our other products. I will go talk with the Hokage regarding a possible contract and all the products we have and can possibly order!" smiling widely, she happily shoved her brother towards the doorway to the storeroom and gently shooed Ibiki to follow him.

Hermione conveniently overlooked the looks of indignation, shock, and betrayal that her brother was shooting her. Completely happy with the new turn of events, she reached below the counter, grabbed their products catalog, and walked briskly to the table with the remaining four ninja. She never once looked back.

* * *

In the storeroom, Harry could feel his heart rate accelerating due to the intoxicating presence of Ibiki Morino. His magic was purring more than Crookshank. However, he knew that at any moment, he could make a complete fool of himself.

'Why, Hermione? Why?' the wizard lamented in his head 'Why did you do this to me? I wasn't really going to leave you alone with the realtors!'

The storeroom was a large room with multiple cubed shelving units. Each cube measured 8 inches by 8 inches with a locked glass door that was labeled. Half of the locked cubes contained large glass jars filled with one type of herb or plant. The other half was filled with individual dosages of specific teas packaged in squared, one inch plastic sealed bags.

Glancing at his companion, Harry found himself looking directly into ebony eyes that were staring intently at him. Immediately a fierce blush painted his cheeks as he quickly jerked his eyes away. Talking a deep breath, he entered the code that unlocked one section of locked cubes. The green eyed wizard quickly grabbed one dosage of energy tea and its individual ingredients from the cubed storage unit. He placed them on the work table and turned around, only to jump in surprise when he found Ibiki standing closely behind him.

Ibiki Morino was considered a master at reading body language. It was a skill needed to be in the Torture and Interrogation Division, and as the direct supervisor, his skills grew with experience. Right now, he was feeling dazed and disbelieving due to the signals he was reading from _his_ Emerald. And the man was certainly his. The blushes, shy glances, increased heart beat, and looks of fascination and lust all pointed to signs of mutual attraction. Like the experienced predator he was, Ibiki wasted no time in pouncing on his prey.

He leaned closer to his Emerald and took great delight in the acceleration of his breathing and pulse. He knew being forthcoming and blunt was highly appreciated and desired by his little koneko. The dark shadows in his gorgeous green eyes told him this. So he continued to disregard the unspoken rules of being a ninja and was brutally honest.

"I find you very attractive and would like to get to know you better. With your permission I would like to take you on a romantic date this Saturday to accomplish this endeavor." he whispered in a low voice as he looked directly into Harry's eyes.

'I'm going to pass out!' was Harry's first thought. It was quickly followed by 'Oh Merlin! Oh Merlin! Oh Merlin! He asked me out. _He asked me out_! Say something you fool, before he changes his mind!'

Unfortunately, the wizard's mouth refused to cooperate with his brain so he could only nod his head mutely as he continued to stare back at the sexy shinobi. Particularly his lips. 'Oh most definitely his lips!' leered inner Harry as a slow sexy smirk began to form while a husky chuckle escaped from the darkly handsome shinobi.

Ibiki was delirious in delight. Watching his Emerald's pupils began to dilate with attraction while a delicate blush adored his cheeks was one of the most enticing sights he had ever seen. It only heightened his state of arousal that has been slowly simmering since he walked into the café and saw his exquisite koneko clad in a gorgeous dark green kimono.

Gazing lustfully at each other, Ibiki softly asked "Can I kiss you?"

On mute head nod later, they kissed.

To say it was magically was not a figure of speech. Harry's magic roared in celebration and surged through both participants leaving them weak kneed and exhilarated as their nerves sung with the heady intensity of a fatal attraction. It was literally an electrifying feeling that evoked barely controlled primitive sensations of dominance and submission. Ibiki wanted to ravage Harry while Harry wanted to be ravaged by Ibiki. However, both participants knew that this was neither the time nor the place for such wanton actions.

Reluctantly, Ibiki broke the kiss with his new koibito. Barely an inch apart, the sounds of heavy breathing filled the air as they continued to stare ardently at each other. It felt good. Hell, it felt great. The feelings of certainty herald through both their hearts.

After another quick kiss, Ibiki spoke softly "I'll see you on Saturday." With that he turned around and left the storeroom.

Harry pressed two trembling fingers to his lips. Unsurprisingly, the wizard was in a slight daze. The heady kiss and sharp thrum of his magic left him giddy and incredibly nervous. 'I have a date this Saturday!' was the only thought that echoed through his head. Repeatedly.

In the dining room, Hermione and the shinobi was enjoying their intense discussion about the various herbs and their medical effect. The Hokage and Shizune were pleased with the wide selection of useful products and Tsunade had arranged for a large delivery of ointments and salves for Konoha's hospital. Inoichi was glad to learn more about several exotic plants and was happy with the café's order for fresh flowers from his florist shop. He was positively bringing his wife here. Likewise, Shikaku was intrigued by all the new medical possibilities and mentally brainstormed strategies to get the Council's approval to make a mutually beneficial contract with the Potter-Blacks. Based upon their wealth, he didn't believe the Council would be against such an alliance.

Through the back doorway, Ibiki appeared and strolled through the café with a sense of dark triumph rolling off him in waves. He neither paused nor acknowledged the group as he exited the café.

After a brief moment of silence, different sounds of amusement came from their table as individuals laughed, chuckled, giggled, and cackled in shared amusement.

Step One in Operation Get Harry/Ibiki A Man …..Success!

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Thank you for reading my story. Please review!

Posted: 02/02/13 Chapter 4/10 Word Count: Over 6,100! It appears each chapter just keeps getting longer!

AN: Sorry! I was going to introduce Naruto in this chapter but it completely ran away from me! He will be written in the next chapter.

Below are explanations to clarify certain aspects of the story. Please read if you are interested! Any questions, comments, suggestions, or issues of concern, please pm or review them. Thanks a million!

Dobby being bonded to Harry - Yes, Dobby is a bonded house-elf of the House of Potter. I honestly believe he would have loved to be Harry's elf. In my story, he is a strong and independent elf capable of great feats of magic because he has a strong magical bond with Harry. Elf bonds based on love, trust, and respect are logically much more powerful than bonds of fear or ones that were forced on young house elves. Ergo, Dobby is a powerful house elf who is proudly bonded to the powerful wizard, Harry Potter.

Tea instead of Coffee – They focused on tea due to it being favored by Asian and British culture.

Goblin Friend status – during the war, Hermione and Harry went to the leader of Gringotts regarding the horcrux in the Lestrange Vault. It turns out that horcruxes were banned from Gringotts in accordance to an old treaty with the British Ministry at the end of another Goblin War. By going to Gringotts instead of forcing the action through the Ministry, the duo proved they had more respect and trust in the Goblins. After the war, Harry and Hermione gave the Order a false story on how they got the horcrux, thereby preserving Gringott's reputation of discretion to the Wizarding public, particularly the Purebloods (and their money). In addition, they helped to save goblin lives during a Death Eater attack on Diagon Alley. For their actions, Gringotts discretely awarded them the status of Goblin Friends. Their alliance with Gringotts allowed them to have invaluable information regarding the Hidden Countries. That information allowed them to select the best place to live – thus they chosed Konoha.

Opening a business easily – Konoha has a laissez faire policy. If you had the money to open a business – go for it as long as it wasn't illegal. That laid back attitude explains how the business could discriminate unrepentantly towards Naruto.

Accalia – it's a name that means she-wolf in Latin and serves as a symbol of respect and love to a devoted uncle. And yes, the really long names of the witch and wizard do have a purpose.

Ibiki's pet names for Harry: Emerald – his eyes. Koneko – little black kitten, Harry can be very hissy, snarling pouty kittenish like …..so koneko was born. Koibito – Japanese term for boyfriend


	5. Chapter 4 - Enter Blonde Sunshine

Two Scarred Souls Heal Each Other

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Naruto. They belong to their respective authors and publishing/media companies.

Warning: Yaoi/Slash. Harry/Ibiki. Please don't read if its not your cup of tea.

Big Thank You to my wonderful beta: latte2. Her patience knows no bounds. Even when arguing over 'showed' versus 'shone'. She won!

Author's Notes: Thank you for voting in Hermione's Poll. The winner is…..Iruka! Latte2 was so happy.

An ecstatic round of applause for all my readers who has read, reviewed, and/or add this story to their favorite's list. I love you all!

Story warning: This story is AUish. It takes place a few months after the Sandaime's death. And Sasuke has not defected from the village. In my little world, Jiraiya placed a stronger seal on the Curse Seal and Tsunade had increased the security around the village to prevent the notion that Konoha was weak from the Invasion. Thus, Sasuke doesn't have the motivation or opportunity to leave Konoha.

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Chapter 4: Enter Blonde Sunshine

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**Friday after the Grand Opening**

Harry walked down a street, carrying multiple bags of groceries that he had just purchased to make some easy and delicious meals for the café. He wanted to shrink the bags but could not due to the witnesses who saw him purchase the supplies. Harry did not want to arouse questions regarding the 'missing' bags should anyone be paying attentions. The resounding success of Apothecary Café meant a desired need to slightly expand the lunch menu. In the past two days, the café had garnered some dedicated followers due to its exotic teas and scrumptious pastries. Hermione and Harry firmly believed a menu featuring the cuisine from the West would be very popular with their customers. Currently, the wizard was struggling to keep up with the bread baking in order to meet the demands for the simple sandwiches and wraps. He sincerely hoped a small expanded menu would allow him to focus the ovens more on the pastries and less on bread raising and baking.

Turning around a corner, he was surprised by a sudden collision with another person. Stifling curses, Harry quickly casted a few silent and invisible spells to cushion the fall of the grocery bags. After taking a few seconds to regain his balance, he looked up to locate the individual that he jarred into. Quickly his emerald gaze locked into sapphire orbs that radiated apprehension from a whiskered face and wildly spiked blonde hair. The boy was hard to miss in his vividly orange jumpsuit. Another important aspect that Harry saw was the Konoha headband that was proudly placed on his head. However, it was the apprehensive and nervous aura surrounding the young teen that caused the wizard to adapt a serene and non-threatening approach.

"Hi there! Sorry for the little mishap. I didn't see you when I came around the corner. Must have been distracted by all these bags." Harry smiled sheepishly and pointed to the bags on the ground. "If you can help me pick them up, I would greatly appreciate it."

Blue eyes regarded him in suspicion before widening in shock at the realization that the strange man really didn't know who he was!

"Ummm…..Sure I can help pick up your bags. As future hokage, I will gladly help citizens when they need it. Believe it!" the blond genin chirped energetically.

"So you are going to be the hokage one day? Excellent goal. Well, Mr. Future Hokage, my name is Hadrian Potter-Black. Pleased to meet you." replied Harry with an honest smile.

"Naruto Uzumaki. Nice to meet you too!" Naruto beamed with happiness. The nice onii-san had complimented his goal. No insults or distain at all. Pure awesomeness!

"Ne, ne, Black-san. Where are we going?" he asked as he walked beside Harry.

"We are going to Apothecary Café. These are groceries to help cook a trial lunch menu for lunch in a few hours." he explained patiently.

"Wow! You work there! Iruka-sensei gave me some fruit tarts from there when he visited my place the other day. They were really delicious!" proclaimed the blonde.

"Why thank you, Naruto. My sister and I own the café. I am glad to hear you enjoyed the pastries from there." Harry smiled happily at the blonde. However, he was mentally examining the boy's short stature and body proportions. Naruto was very skinny and petite for his age, being a genin meant he was around 12 to 13 years old. Harry had to push back dark memories that surged forward with the suspicions of malnutrition and abuse.

As they continued to walk towards Apothecary Café, the wizard and genin chatted about a wide array of subjects ranging from the Ninja Academy to Naruto's obsessive love of ramen. They entered through the backdoor in order to go directly into the kitchen. Within five minutes, the majority of the groceries were stored in the refrigerator or pantry. Harry left the ingredient to make chicken dumplings and pot pies out on the counter. He was determined to whip up a healthy and nutritious meal for Naruto. He cajoled Naruto to stay in the back and keep him company while he made and cooked the food. Despite the meal being offered as a 'thank you' gesture, Naruto insisted on being helpful and happily washed the dishes that Harry neglected this morning.

Less than an hour later, Harry was pulling out hot and bubbly chicken pot pies from the ovens. He place 20 pies in the warming oven to keep them hot and fresh (courtesy of several charms and two runic arrays). Another 10 pies to be served to customers, with an extra one for Hermione, were arranged in the serving window. In addition, the green eyed cook informed his sister that there were 20 more pies and the chicken and dumplings would be ready in 20 more minutes. Hermione quickly set aside her tasty lunch while she grabbed the pies to serve to their eager customers who were waiting patiently ever since the delicious aroma waffled through the café. After another quick glance at the stove, Harry sat down at the long table in the kitchen to serve lunch to Naruto and himself.

"Here you go, Naruto. One delicious, hot, and bubbly pot pie for lunch with tea to drink. Enjoy!" he called out cheerfully while serving the enthusiastic genin.

"Hmmm, this is really good Black-san." complimented Naruto after taking a careful bite of the hot pot pie. "Even the vegetables taste good, and I hate vegetables!"

"Well that's good to hear!" laughed Harry. "You should come by more often. I'll serve some wonderful food that will have you liking vegetables in no time."

"Ummm….I'll stop by when I can. I don't really eat out often due to being on a genin salary." stated the slightly downcast blonde.

"Ah. I get it. How about a deal? You stop by and help with the dishes and I will provide an hourly wage of 100 ryos an hour and free meals at the Café. Plus, you can even take home any leftovers if you want to." bargained the wizard. Harry really wanted to help the young genin. Talking with him for the past two hours was like looking into a mirror image of himself when he still lived at the Dursleys: malnutrition, low self esteem, unhealthy diet, and overwhelming hostility from people. Harry saw the looks glared at Naruto's direction during the walk to the café and he paid attention to the way Naruto avoided being seen through the serving window. If a job with meals was the first step to helping Naruto, then a job with meals would be provided!

The two males argued over the wage for a while before settling to a salary of 80 ryos an hour. Both of them were very pleased over the agreement. Naruto was happy to be able to eat fresh and delicious meals every day and not having to waste precious money on spoilt or nearly inedible food from the stores. The extra money from the salary was just an added bonus. Harry was pleased to be able to feed the orphan and he planned on slipping nutrient potions into Naruto's teas during meal times. A little extra boost wouldn't go amiss, anyways.

* * *

Tsunade was reading paperwork at her desk with a small tin of biscotti to accompany her Darjeeling tea. For once, she wasn't diligently praying for sake or trying to escape her office. The initial reports from Konoha Hospital regarding the new shipment of medical supplies were just too fascinating. The Potter-Blacks were true to their word and delivered the products in a quick and timely fashion. Naturally she ordered trial tests before the products could be made available to the shinobi corps. Not surprisingly, the medical staff was excited about the new products and they had written glowing reports about the first and second round of testing. The only downside was the medicinal teas and herbs were less effectiveness if used too frequently in a short about of time. Hermione revealed that many of the liquid medication tasted absolutely foul in order to ensure the consumers did not build a dependence or tolerance of them over prolong usage

Coincidentally, the energizing tea was the first product tested. It seems to be a wonderful alternative for soldier pills. The energizing tea unfortunately lost its effect if consumed to often in a short about of time. However, it wasn't fatal unlike over usage of soldier pills. Tsunade made a note to have the energizing tea come with a recommendation for a three times daily maximum usage. The siblings mentioned it could be consumed as a liquid medication with some adjustment to its recipe. However, they were adamant that it could never be produced as a pill due to the herbs becoming null from being too finely grounded and compressed into pill format.

The bruise treatment cream and the burn removal ointment performed perfectly in the test runs. The doctors were ecstatic to realize the burn removal salve helped minimize nerve damage if applied quickly to a new burn wound and reduced scarring for all burn injuries. Likewise, the bruise treatment worked best on fresh wounds but still helped heal all types of bruises from minor to deep tissue. The most surprising product was the small white pills that were an allergic reaction/venom/common poison cure. Harry explained that it was a common product in their homeland due to snake bites and allergic reactions being frightening but normal occurrences. Therefore, most families stocked the preventive medicine in their homes or on their persons. The fact that it helped with common poisons was an additional benefit. The young man bluntly reminded the Hokage that his family's wealth meant that they were possible targets of greedy opportunists so a poison cure was a necessity and not a luxury. They merely extended the courtesy of selling the small white pills to their new home.

The medical staff was happy with the test results but was vaguely disappointed that the products only helped while major injuries still required medical assistance from trained personnel. Once again, it only confirmed the Potter-Blacks' claim that they only sold helpful medical products not miracle cures. However, Tsunade and Inoichi firmly believed the Potter-Blacks had more medical secrets but they refused to push the siblings further in fear of them leaving Konoha completely. Apparently, the Daimyo was aware of the duo and had granted them asylum in Fire Country. Barring criminal charges, overt harassment and interference with the brother and sister could result in a political nightmare when such news reached the Daimyo's court.

Speaking of harassment and interference it was almost time for the requested meeting with some civilian council members. Tsunade could feel her future headache strumming in her head as she mentally prepared herself for the ridiculous demands/complaints of the civilian council.

'Why? Oh why did the Sandaime believe having a civilian council was a good idea? This is a ninja village. It should be run by the ninjas! If civilians don't like it, they could always move out!' Tsunade bemoaned to herself.

Staring at the door, she could hear the shrill tones of Councilwoman Meibuki Haruno as she demanded to see the Hokage as it was the scheduled time of their meeting. Well, no point in running away since they were already here. 'Maybe an emergency would crop up?' pined the Hokage as her office door opened to reveal her unwanted and pesky guests. Give her unpaid creditors any day over brazen and audacious council member.

"Good afternoon, Lady Tsunade. We are here as the representatives of the concerned citizens of Konoha regarding the latest actions of Genin Naruto Uzumaki." announced Councilwoman Haruno in loud and snotty tones.

Tsunade barely resisted her urge to sneer at the four council members. Any mentions of her favorite blonde from these people always put her in a foul mood.

"What seems to be the problem now, council members?" she queried as her eyes flashed warnings. Every other week, it seemed like they had another complaint and frankly she was getting quite sick of them.

"We had received alarming news that he has become a perpetual nuisance to the poor owners of Apothecary Café. You do know of Apothecary Café, right Lady Tsunade? It is such a delightful tea house and has become very popular with Madame Shijime. Therefore, it is distressing to hear that such a new and illustrious restaurant is being sullied in such a manner." reported Masato Ishikawa, a rich merchant councilman.

"Indeed. We demand that you reprimand Genin Uzumaki and order him to keep his distance away from Apothecary Café. It is very unfortunate that the poor owners do not realize the repercussions that could come from such an association. As a young gentleman and lady of elite peerage, they unknowingly court social disaster from such patronage in their fine establishment." Councilwoman Haruno punctuated her statement with a disapproving sniff of distain.

In her head, Tsunade chanted the mantra that had become almost a prayer in the past three months since becoming Hokage. 'Must not kill idiotic civilians. Must not kill idiotic civilians.' The rampant discrimination against the innocent blonde who only wanted protect his precious people always provoked Tsunade's legendary temper. The urge to punch them into a wall grew stronger every day.

Taking a slow slip of her tea, the Hokage valiantly tried to stem her anger and projected a emotionless facade. Years of being a kunoichi came in handle for situation like this.

"I understand your issue of unhappiness. However, without a complaint from the owners themselves, I cannot reprimand a shinobi based upon the uneasy feelings of a selected few of the population." she impassively stated while giving them a predatory stare, silently daring them to disagree. There's always one…

"That's not reasonable, Lady Hokage. The owners are new citizens of Konoha. Obviously, they are not aware of the delicacy of this situation or the steps they should take to resolve this unwanted issue. Therefore as the civilian leaders, we beseech you to perform your duties without bias. We are well aware that you …..like the young genin, but you must conduct your responsibilities with impartiality." dictated Councilwoman Jun Nishimaru, whose family owned several businesses in Konoha. Incidentally, those businesses have always firmly refused service to Naruto and had helped promote that boycott to other businesses for years.

'No that woman did not just tell me how to do my damn job! Impartiality my ass! Her precious stores cannot be tainted by the Kyuubi brat! As a business owner you should _impartially_ sell your products regardless of your personal prejudices. Hypocritical bitch!' ranted Tsunade in her mind.

While she would love to say that out loud, the Slug Sannin was aware of the political clout of the civilian council and anything she said couldn't change their minds anyways. Tch! However, that didn't stop her from throwing some sly verbal barbs.

Nodding her head regally, she said, "As a Hokage, I do listen carefully to the advice of _my _council. I firmly believe that I diligently conduct myself in the appropriate manner and try to never let my personal feelings lead to an abuse of power. After all, it wouldn't do to use my power to meddle unnecessarily into the affairs of our citizens. Why, just image what I could learn if I employed the ANBU to closely monitor the actions inside the village. All the dirty, dark secrets that would be exposed, just like that!" She snapped her fingers and watched as the civilians jumped in surprise.

She looked at the council members "Tell you what, I will personally speak to Hadrian and Hermione Potter-Black. If in any way they are uncomfortable with Genin Uzumaki's presence, I will ensure he will not bother them anymore." Her smile was almost shark like as she gazed upon the council members whose spines had become rigidly straight with the unspoken threat of being closely monitored by shinobi.

"Yes, please see that you do that." With one last formal nod, Councilwoman Haruno walked stiffly out the office and was hastily followed by her peers.

Lady Tsunade gave a tired sigh and stared disgustedly at her tea cup. Now would be a good time to try that headache remedy that she had discussed with Hermione during her last visit. The Hokage had a feeling she would be drinking a lot of it during the oncoming days as the Civilian Council inevitably fussed and complained about everything.

"Shizune! We're going back to the Café!"

* * *

Hermione looked up from her daily inventory record when she heard the sounds of the door chimes. The appearance of the Hokage and her apprentice was a common sight these days. She hurriedly laid the record under the counter and greeted the approaching two women.

"Good afternoon! Welcome back to the Apothecary Café. I am pleased to announce we are serving Paella and Gumbo for lunch along with our usual sandwiches and wraps. How may I help you today?" she asked with a smile.

"Paella? Gumbo? What are those?" Shizune questioned, always eager to try something new.

"Paella is a wonderful saffron flavored dish made with varying combinations of rice, vegetables, and seafood. Gumbo is a soup with a strongly flavored stock and a mixture of rice, vegetables, meats, and shrimp. As you can guess, Harry is favoring rice and shrimp as his main ingredients today." explained Hermione.

Both the women could feel their mouths water from the food's description and the delicious smells in the air.

"Will you serve these meals all the time?" inquired the Hokage.

"Unfortunately no. We will not serve the same dishes consecutively due to Harry's decision to have a permanently revolving menu. He cooks what he is inspired to cook that day and uses the locally available ingredients that are in season." informed the curly haired brunet.

After a quick exchange of looks between the mentor and her apprentice, Tsunade asked if they could order one of each dish and share. Hermione easily obliged the request and said she would inform Harry to serve each dish evenly split into two portions. Happy with the outcome, they ordered a pot of fruit tea to drink while they waited and Tsunade got one teacup with mild pain relief herbs for her headache. Before turning to sit at a table, the Hokage asked to speak with both siblings when they had a free moment.

Within eight minutes, the siblings walked towards their table with Harry carrying a wooden tray containing their lunch and desert of fruit tarts. He effortlessly served the food and stood back to stand besides his sister as they waited to hear what the Hokage wanted to talk to them about.

Shizune gleefully began eating lunch while Tsunade shot reproachful looks at her assistant. She turned her head to avoid looking at the delicious spread of food and regarded the brunets intensely.

"To speak frankly, I was just paid a visit by some members of Konoha's Civilian Council. They are quite indignant about the presence of a young genin in your café. He was seen here last night and they believe he may be a nuisance to you. So, is Naruto bothering you two in any way, form, or fashion?" she bluntly questioned.

Harry tensed and hostilely looked at the blonde leader. "Naruto Uzumaki is certainly not a problem in this Café. In fact, he has just been hired to help with kitchen duties and has performed wonderfully as of now. If certain individuals do not like his presence here, they can kindly take their business elsewhere!" he declared firmly. Besides him, Hermione nodded her head in agreement and conveyed her support with a determined gleam in her eyes.

They were both surprised when the Hokage smiled in response to their hostile statement.

"Excellent! I was hoping you would feel the same way. That little bundle of sunshine needs all the allies he can get. You do realize public support of the village pariah may lead to backlash and a boycott of your café?" she said while taking a enthusiastic bit of her paella. A small hum of appreciation escaped her lips once she tasted the richly flavored dish. The shrimp was cooked to perfection and the crispness of the bottom layer of rice was simply delicious.

Harry snorted in retort to Tsunade's query. "It doesn't matter. Not to brag, but we are quite financially secure. This café is more of an entertaining business venture and not a source of livelihood. If they refuse to patron our café, bully for them. We could care less."

"Exactly. Good riddance to bad rubbish!" declared Hermione. "We wouldn't want them as customers anyways."

The fact that the conversation wasn't quiet did not escape the notice of the party of four. Each duo knew the gossip mills would soon be rampant with the news of the Potter-Blacks' stance of Naruto Uzumaki. The repercussions of their bold statements would soon be visible in the forthcoming days.

Tsunade angled her food away from the predatory stare of Shizune. She knew the bob haired woman would not hesitate to poach her food.

"Huh, I wonder what the civilians will think of your perspective. Mark my words, the rumor mills will be burning in minutes. But speaking of rumors," Tsunade locked eyes with Harry and smirked knowingly "I heard you have a hot date with one of my reclusive jounins this Saturday. Good job!" The short round of applause from Tsunade, which was joined by Shizune, was definitely not appreciated by the embarrassed chef.

Immediately, a rapid blush appeared on the cheeks of a horrified wizard. He whipped his head to the side when he heard the jovial chortles of his sister. Harry stared accusingly at her until he suddenly realized the other customers were giving him inquisitive looks too. Immediately, the notes of the horn of retreat sounded throughout his mind. 'Run away! Run away I say! Screw your pride and dignity as a man. Danger! Danger! You're surrounded by matchmakers. Scream like a little girl and flee!' yelled his survival instincts.

Being the most eligible bachelor of the Wizarding World meant his instincts were finely honed from navigating the traps and pitfalls of women, and the occasional man, on a mission. Thus, he had learned to trust and heed those warning bells. Harry promptly turned on his heels and hurried back into the kitchen. 'It's a strategic retreat! I'm not running away.' he fervently thought as he tried to comfort himself. The peals of laughter at his back did not lend much credibility to his wishful denial.

* * *

Harry signed tiredly as he leaned into the table in the kitchen. The entire day was full of madness ever since the Hokage came for a visit. 'Damn her and her speculations.' he thought viciously. Since her public inquisition, the wizard noticed a dramatic increase of people who peered at him through the service window as if expecting his mystery date to appear at any minute. 'I thought they would go away not come in droves!'

Hedwig stirred slightly on her large wooden perch. She had shown up at work a few hours ago and enjoyed a delightful feast of chopped seafood and meat from her adoring wizard. Such a good hatchling she thought as she watched him paced and clang pots together. If only a little bit more quieter….

Suddenly the back door opened and both occupants turned to face the new arrival. Standing in the door was a bemused blonde genin who was peering earnestly at Hedwig.

"Ah, Black-san? Is that the owl that Kiba is afraid of? He's been ranting about a white owl for the past few weeks. I thought he was crazy because I had never seen an owl, much less a white one!" exclaimed Naruto as he moved into the kitchen.

Harry look accusingly at Hedwig only to watch as she cocked her head to the side and release an innocent sounding "Hoot?"

Her…. Terrorizing an innocent child? Why she would _never_ do such an impudent thing!

"Hoot?" she repeated again, swiveling her head from side to side. The perfect picture of owl innocence.

"Who indeed?" Harry muttered darkly as he continued to stare suspiciously at his chuffing familiar. "I don't know about any actions regarding Kiba, but Hedwig here is a snowy white owl who is very mischievous," He waved Naruto to the table to serve him dinner before he began washing dishes.

"And Hedwig, this is Naruto. He will be working here as a dishwasher. Please treat him kindly." introduced a wizard to his familiar.

Hedwig examined the young blond teen and bobbed her head in a greeting as he sat down at the table to begin eating the shrimp scampi with fresh bread. As the mother owl of an abused chick, she could spot the similarities between this boy and her own. It was very good of her hatchling to help take care of another. However, it would be her wizard to find another fledging with hair just as bizarre as his! Oh, well. 'Only one thing left to do.' she determined as she spread her wing in preparation for a short glide.

"Oi, Hedwig-san! What are you doing to my hair?" yelped a startled genin when a large owl landed on his shoulder and started preening his hair with gentle tugs of her beak.

Harry stared in astonishment at his beloved owl. She rarely took it upon herself to groom another person besides himself. He gave a gentle smile and a nod of gratitude to his motherly familiar.

"Don't worry Naruto. That's actually a sign that she likes you!"

* * *

Thank you for reading my story. Please review!

Posted: 02/10/13 Word Count: over 4,800

Author's Notes:

Money exchange rate: From internet research, 1 ryo equals 10 yens, 100 yens equals roughly 1 dollar, 1.5 dollars equals 1 pound, and 5 pounds equals one gallon. Ergo, Naruto's hourly wage of 80 ryos equals 800 yens, 8 dollars, 5.33 pounds, and 1 gallon per hour. Not so bad when that includes meals, drinks, and free leftovers.

Madame Shijime: the Daimyo's wife and proud owner of Tora the Cat.

Food Menu: Yes it is very diverse. It should smell weird with the pastries but the all the pastries are cooked very early in the morning while bread starts cooking at 10 am to 3 pm. The smell of bread goes with absolutely everything. Thus, the Café smells delicious all the time.

Below are some responses to some readers' reviews. I wish to clarify some aspects of the story that I have yet to address in a pm. Please read if interested!

Stahchild: the story takes place after the invasion of Sound and Suna. Tsunade is Hokage due to the Sandaime's death. However, Harry will still be very protective of Naruto though. Expect fireworks in the future!

Dark Neko 4000: Harry is currently slated to be an overprotective older brother to Naruto. No blood adoptions though.

Silvermane1: Thanks for spotting where this story verges into AU land. If anybody can understand the overwhelming burden of public pressure and the desire for revenge, it would be Harry. He could have easily been a power hungry avenger too.

Snarryadict123: I love uke Harry too! As for the reactions to the house, the only person who knew of the house's previous condition was the realtor who was aware of the wealth of the Potter-Blacks. The quick renovations can easily be explained by hefty paychecks for speed and efficiency.

Grey-Shadow-Horse: Ibiki is currently 27 (according to Narutowiki, he was a genin at 10 and a chunin by 15). Harry is 20 in the story (hunted horcruxes at 18, the war and trials at 19, left at 20).

Wandering Crimson Sage: the plot is definitely moving quickly. However, both Harry and Ibiki had experienced wars and deaths of close friends. They have good instincts and understand the value to grabbing onto fortune's blessing with both hands. Plus, I am impatient too! I couldn't bear to have them dancing around each other for months.


	6. Chapter 5 - All Bets Are Off

Two Scarred Souls Heal Each Other

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Naruto. They belong to their respective authors and publishing/media companies.

Warning: Yaoi/Slash. Harry/Ibiki. Please don't read if its not your cup of tea.

Author's Notes: shout out to my beta: Latte2!

A big round of applause to the reader who led the charge of the Vote for Gai Brigade. Iruka won the voting, but your efforts absolutely tickled me! Latte2 called and informed me about your endeavor and all I could do was laugh. So, applause and cheers to you for completely making my day!

Much love to all my readers, reviewers, followers, and favoriters. I apologize for the update glitches for chapter 4 on Sunday, February 10th. Thank you for sticking with me! In dedication to you, this update is early and a Valentine's present to you all!

Happy Valentine's Day Everybody!

.

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Chapter 5: All Bets Are Off

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**Saturday, the Day of the First Date**

In the headquarters of the Torture and Interrogation Division, Ibiki sat at his desk in deep contemplation. Against his will, his mind constantly drifted towards his Emerald. In less than six hours, he would embark on his first date in years. Previously, Ibiki only had liaisons with fellow shinobi so an actual romantic date with a civilian (of all people!) was a cause of faint apprehension. However, the most pressing issue at this moment was the way Anko kept looking at him. It was a disturbing mixture of morbid curiosity and unholy greed. She repeatedly looked and stared at him, as if she was expecting him to reveal some deep, dark secret before breaking into a song and dance routine. In short, it was annoying the hell out of him.

"Anko! Don't you have something to do? Some prisoners to torture? Dangos to hunt down and devour? Anything but sitting at your desk and bothering me?" he growled after the umpteenth time she had glanced in his direction.

"Nope! Have something better to focus on." Anko replied back in a sing song tone. After spinning around in her chair a few times, she stopped and fixed a demented gaze on Ibiki.

"Hey Ibiki! Who do you think the jounin is that has a hot date with the new sexy café guy?" she called out, reaching for a dango stick to throw and embed into the ceiling above her desk. Her masterpiece was almost complete!

'What the hell!' thought Ibiki. 'Surely, she's not asking what I think she is asking about.'

"Ninja? A hot date? What are you talking about Anko?" the jounin asked impatiently.

"Its like this, Biki. Kotetsu and Izumo were eating dinner at the new Apothecary Café. You know the tea shop with all the badass dragons on the wall. They make some damn good pastries too, almost as tasty as dango! Anyways, the Hokage and Zune-chan walked in and ordered some food. Apparently, the pissy civilian council has been raising a fuss about foxy boy working at the Café. Those Blacks laid a verbal smack down and declared Naruto was welcomed there and everybody else could go to hell if they didn't like it." She paused to carefully aim another dango stick and threw it onto the ceiling to join the dozens that were already there.

"Now the kicker is, Senju-hime mentioned the guy had a hot date with a jounin. So, we are all trying to find out who the shinobi is! We even have a betting pool going. So any ideals on who it could be? I want to win that pool - dango ain't cheap you know!" she turned sparkly eyes towards him, the thought of mountains of dango dancing through her mind.

Ibiki aimed a deadpan look at his subordinate. Her new look was even creepier than the one before. And why the hell was she drooling!

"Exactly who is we? And why do you want me to help you win a betting pool?" he questioned, pinching his nose in frustration. 'Why can't Konoha shinobi have normal hobbies? And why betting pools of all things to focus on?' he wondered.

"Everybody! Tetsu, Zumo, Nai-chan, Iruka, me, and a whole lot more! Tsunade is running the pool and she is accepting bets for another hour from all shinobi expect for jounins. She said it would be unfair for them to be betting in the pool too because one of them may very well be the mystery man himself. So…even though you can't bet directly, I'll cut you a share of the pool if your guess helps me win!" she crowed ecstatically.

Well, that answered the question of why betting pools had become popular. The Legendary Sucker was flaming the fires of gambling herself.

Ibiki was not pleased with this new development. That betting pool meant the date with Emerald would now be a matter of public scrutiny, which could cause his koneko some distress. He had reserved a private dinner at a discreet restaurant. However, he faced the challenge of getting both of them there without gaining the attention of every shinobi, from genin to ANBU, that were a bunch of gambling idiots. 'Nothing I can't handle though.' he inwardly smirked.

Ibiki took a few moments to mentally review possible routes to the restaurant while he filed his completed paperwork. He was in the process of assembling a confidential report for the Hokage when an unexpected realization struck him like a lightning bolt. He just comprehended the significance of the latter portion of Anko's mad rambling. Hadrian and Hermione just stepped into dangerous territory with their hiring and acceptance of Naruto Uzumaki. Personally, he had nothing against the brat. Hell, he even admired the genin's tenacious spirit which shone throughout the Chunin Exams. Never the less, his Emerald could very well be in danger from the rabid, drunken, prejudice, and stupid population of Konoha. The damn mobs that always formed on October 10th were undisputable proof that some people were incapable of rationality.

Not surprisingly, he had the sudden urge to see Hadrian. The betting pool be damned. He needed to make sure his Emerald was safe and unharmed. Kami help the poor souls who dared to touch what was his!

Anko took her focus off the ceiling where she was admiring her beautiful rendition of Dangos on a Stick, which delightfully looked as if it was about to rain down and skewer her at any moment. She watched as Ibiki snatched up a folder and stalked out the room, briefly giving a curt nod of farewell in her direction.

'Huh. I wonder where he is going to in such a hurry? Its only 1' o clock, so maybe a lunch break? Meh! Now is the perfect time to see if I can create the Leaf's emblem above his desk!' She hurriedly stood up and grabbed more dango sticks to complete her new artistic vision.

Her mad cackles of delight ensured nobody was willing to walk into Ibiki's office and stop her impromptu decorating scheme.

* * *

Harry bustled around the kitchen as he got ready to pull the fresh batches of lasagna from the oven. Marinara sauce shimmered merrily on the stove, patiently waiting to be extra sauce for the famed Italian dish or ladled on spaghetti noodles. He made a plethora of crusty Italian and French bread along with a garlic favored butter spread. The tiramisu, cannoli, and ricotta cheesecake were the featured desert and had sold quickly all day. Madame Shijime even placed an order for a specially made tiramisu for her dinner party that night.

All in all, business was booming despite their public proclamation yesterday. There was still a steady flow of patrons who enjoyed the exotic cuisine and teas of the café, more shinobi customers than civilians though. However, there was a drop in the 'elitist' crowd which only made Hermione extremely happy since she didn't have to listen to them drone endlessly about their tea expertise every time they placed an order. Harry was just glad he was stuck in the kitchen due to his cooking duties. He quite disliked having to exercise politeness to pompous windbags.

Harry checked the time and saw it was nearing 1:00 pm. Naruto and his genin team would be coming in for lunch soon. Hermione and Harry wanted to meet the other three members of his squad and offered a free lunch spread as a bribe. The meeting wasn't necessarily for social purposes though. The wizard wanted to observe their social interactions to determine if they posed an emotional risk to his blonde worker. Both siblings were well aware of the damage that betrayal from a close peer or teacher could wrought on an individual. Over the past two days, they had observed the way he was basically starving for affection and knew that as an orphan, his genin team should be the closest thing to a family to him. Obviously, something wasn't right with the situation and Harry was determined to correct it.

The greened eyed chef walked to the kitchen table and examined the lunch that he had set aside for Team Seven. He had prepared several types of lasagna that day and selected a different variety for each individual, catering to their tastes and personalities based upon Naruto's knowledge of his teammates. In addition, there was tomato and fresh mozzarella salad along with the Italian Trio for desert.

He felt the wards pulse and heard the doors chime announcing the entrance of a new customer in the café. Harry knew it was Naruto because he had woven into the wards an alert system to notify the witch and wizard of the genin's presence directly outside or in the café. They did not want Naruto to unexpectedly walk into the café and witness magic or, Merlin forbid, see Dobby popping in as the elf dropped off supplies in the warded storeroom. Through the service window, the brother heard Hermione cheerfully greet the genin and his team while she ushered them to a table in the corner by the kitchen entrance. He watched their dynamics as they seated themselves, before he expertly loaded his serving tray with the lunch spread and entered the dining area.

"Good afternoon. My name is Hadrian Potter – Black and I am very pleased to meet the teammates of my new worker. Thank you for coming to Apothecary Cafe. For lunch, I have prepared a variety of lasagnas for you. Lasagna is a famous dish, traditional made with of layers of pasta, marinara sauce, and filled with a combination of meats, cheeses and vegetables. Marinara is a sauce derived from tomatoes, garlic, onions, and a variety of herbs." stated the wizard as he reached the table.

He saw the group perk up with interest from the delectable aromas and the introduction of their lunch. However, the gleam of anticipation in Sasuke's eyes regarding the new spin of his favorite food, tomatoes, meant the wizard chose the menu correctly. He began to lay the food on the table and described each dish to the intrigued quartet

"For Kakashi sensei, this is seafood lasagna made with shrimp, scallops, and crab meat with a cream sauce instead of marina. For Haruno-san, I have a healthy vegetarian eggplant lasagna with light marina sauce. An extra cheesy ricotta lasagna for you, Naruto-kun with a traditional lasagna of beef, sausages, and extra marinara sauce for Uchiha-san. In addition, there is tomato and fresh mozzarella salad alongside freshly baked bread that can be drizzled with a herb infused olive oil or coated with a garlic and herb butter. Desert will be served later. Please enjoy!" he smiled broadly and retreated to the kitchen to privately eavesdrop on the table. Magic was so useful in situations like this.

Kakashi looked around the café in interest. He had heard of the new restaurant from Kotetsu and Izumo, who practically gushed about the place. It had a relaxing atmosphere and the food certainly smelled delicious. Maybe a good meal will help his little genins relax for a moment and stop all their squabbling.

Sakura stared intently at Sasuke when he reached for his fork to begin eating his lunch. If he liked this new dish, maybe she could ask for the recipe? It would certainly prove to Sasuke that she would be a great wife for him if she cooked such wonderful meals. 'Ha, take that Ino-Pig! Sasuke will surely choose me: beauty, brains, and great cooking skills. There is no way I can lose to her!' she triumphantly shouted inside her mind. 'Maybe I can get a job here too? If they were desperate enough to hire Naruto, surely they'll hire me? Then, I can learn everything I need to know to snare Sasuke's heart!' Squeals filled her thoughts over the dreams of being Mrs. Sasuke Uchiha.

Sasuke took a tentative bit of his lunch. Immediately, the delicious taste of the lasagna exploded on his tongue. It was very, _very_ delicious. 'Hnnn, at least the dobe picked a decent restaurant for lunch. Plus, it's free. Thank Kami, it wasn't Ichiraku's though. The dobe always shouts endlessly to eat there and normal people could only eat so much ramen, unlike that bottomless pit. I do like those paintings of dragons and phoenixes. Wonder where they got them from?' A sudden chill ran up his spine and he casted a suspicious glare in Sakura's direction. 'Why the hell did I get stuck on a team with HER! At the least the dobe only gets sparkly eyes over his precious ramen. Kami help me, if I ever get fanboys too!' he internally ranted.

Naruto ate his lunch enthusiastically, almost vibrating in his chair. He was bursting with pride over showing his teammate his new workplace. At first, they didn't want to come due to thinking it was job at Ichiraku's and they firmly vetoed more ramen. Which was crazy cause ramen was just plain awesome! They didn't believe him when he said it was the new café that everybody was talking about. Sakura-chan even punched him on his head for, in her words, "making up such lies".

'As if I would! That's totally against his nindo. Believe it!' he crowed. 'Now look at them: happily eating lunch at my new job. Awesome!'

At this point, the observing siblings were wondering 'What the hell? No conversations? No talking? Their group dynamics are totally dysfunctional!' They exchanged bewildered glances through the serving window. There was a very stunted silence at the dining table of Team 7. Finally, due to a lack of inspiration or better ideals, he gave a bemused wave at Hedwig, signaling she could go and greet the blonde genin. The owl had been stirring relentlessly on her perch since she spied his blond spikes in the dining area.

With a happy coo, she flew upwards and out of one of the new specially made additions in the restaurant. Harry had commissioned some minor renovations once he realized his beloved pet was going to be regular visitor at the restaurant. New high placed windows graced the back of the kitchen so she could fly in and out of the building. Two right-angle triangle cutouts were placed high on the wall that separated the kitchen from the dining area. Harry figured all the new windows would help vent the space and allow the waffling aromas to attract customers. If the windows made his beloved familiar happy, then it was well worth the cost of expenses.

Diving gracefully, Hedwig executed a perfect landing as she delicately perched on Naruto's shoulders. She leaned in to give a dainty nip to his ear when the peaceful surrounding was destroyed by an ear – shattering cry from a pink haired genin

"Oh Kami! What is that?" was the next vocalized thought form the loud menace as she sprung up and pointed at Hedwig.

Kakashi, Sasuke, and nearly everybody else turned and stared at Sakura in morbid astonishment. Hermione struggled to keep her composure and the muffled snickers from the kitchen was not helping her endeavors.

Naruto looked at Sakura and turned his head to peer curiously at Hedwig who was staring beadily at the female teen. He had no idea that owls could hiss. Indeed the low and hostile hoot that Hedwig uttered had a distinctive hissing quality to it.

"Uhmmm…..This is Hedwig-san, Sakura-chan. She is Hadrian's pet owl and is quite beloved and spoiled by him. You shouldn't be pointing or shouting at her like that. Its very rude, you know." He stated after giving her a searching glance, as if wondering about her mental facilities.

Sakura turned a deep and humiliated red. She just realized that her actions were very overly dramatic and very damning in her precious Sasuke's eye. 'How dare Naruto make me look foolish in front of Sasuke-kun. I'll show him who is the foolish one! Shannaro!' ran through her thoughts.

"Naruto! You're not supposed to have an owl in a café, you dummy!" She emphasized her statement with a fist against the blonde's head.

After the hit was struck, several things happened simultaneously. The first was the unsuspecting arrival of another person who just walked into the café. Secondly, the other males at the table realized things were about to get very ugly. Sasuke and Kakashi discreetly scooted their chairs away from the table. After a split second of contemplation, they both reached out and took their food with them. Hermione sensed her brother's rage churning and moved to detain him from erupting his legendary temper all over Pinkie's unsuspecting head. 'Not that she doesn't deserve it' mused Hermione, 'but its bad for business.'

Harry couldn't believe the audacity of the pink haired banshee. 'How dare she hit Naruto like that? What the hell! Is that normal?' he furiously thought as he ripped off his apron and turned to stalk through the door. Judging from the non-shocked expressions from all three males at the table, apparently it was. 'No matter. That bint is going to learn such behavior is not acceptable here!' he raged.

However, before Harry could launch into a vehement tirade or Hermione could prevent a verbal flaying of a genin, retaliation came swiftly and brutally from an unexpected source.

Loud battle cries of ferocious hooting echoed through the café. It was punctuated with the loud shrill cries of Hedwig's prey. The motherly snowy owl took strong offense to Sakura's actions. Her piercing loud voice and rude pointing was one thing, but to punch _her_ hatchling's fledging in _her_ presence? Intolerable and must be punished immediately!

That displeasure was thoroughly displayed with rapid peeking and whippings from her wings. She grudging restrained her attacks and refrained from using her claws or pecking hard enough to draw blood. The goal was to chastise the brat, not traumatize or maim the child….at least for now. Hopefully, she'll learn her lesson!

After Sakura left screaming from the café, Hedwig flew back and re-took her perch on Naruto's shoulder. This time, she gently nuzzled him as if to check on his injury before preening his hair. Naruto gave a slight jerk before petting her softly with a soft smile on his face, still shocked but extremely happy by her violent defense of him. Nobody had ever defended him like that before.

The brunet siblings proudly watched their interaction as Kakashi and Sasuke eased back to the table and continued with their meal. Both ninjas made a mental note to be leery of the white owl. Sasuke even took a bit of malicious glee in the way Sakura was rebuked. Honestly, she gave him the creeps. The lunch was less hampered by her presence and become more relaxing.

Harry retreated into the kitchen and returned with the new trio's desert along with strips of bacon as a reward for his brilliant familiar. He strolled to the table, and laid his tray down with a bright chirp of "Deserts, anyone?"

His nonchalance of his pet's attack on a customer was frankly surprising and somewhat disturbing to everyone in the café, with the exception of Hermione, Naruto, and one additional observer.

"What?" he questioned, with an innocent look as he lovingly fed bacon to Hedwig. "Does anyone else want to order desert too? I made three new deserts today. You should try them!" He smiled a beaming smile while his eyes warned others to tread lightly. Apparently, Naruto's acceptance by the Potter-Black included the protection of their pets. Once again, the rumor mills would be burning and working overtime.

Soft, husky chuckles drifted through the air and brought everyone's attention to the newcomer in the café. Harry blushed lightly as his emerald eyes meet the approving gaze of Ibiki's black ones. The jounin had no problems with Harry's coldness to the genin girl's plight. In fact, that ruthlessness was downright sexy.

The wizard quickly noticed the lustful gleam in Ibiki's eyes and could feel his body instinctively tighten in response. He smiled coyly at the approaching jounin. "Good afternoon, Morino-san. Is there anything I can help you with?" he asked flirtatiously.

'Heh, looks like koneko is being a teasing minx today.' His dark eyes swept appreciatively over Harry's form clad in a stormy grey with silver accents kimono. He gave a dark smirk and tapped the folder he was carrying against his thigh. The way Harry's eyes darted downwards and darkened before drifting upwards to continue his shameless ogling was arousing too. "Sorry to interrupt your lunch services. However, there are some questions that I need to ask you. Can you spare a moment of your time?" He held up the folder, giving the false impression that he was there for business purposes.

"Oh. Of course, Morino-san. We can continue this conversation privately in our business office. Please follow me so I can lead you there." Harry responded with a sly smile. The wizard had noticed the interest their conversation generated in the cafe's patrons and the way it seemingly dissipated under the misconception that it was an official shinobi meeting. 'Clever, clever Ibiki. Must reward him later for his positively Slytherin skills of misdirection.' he purred inwardly while he turned and directed Ibiki to the second floor.

As she watched them leave, Hermione gave a dainty snort of disbelief. While the civilians may have bought their little charade, the shinobi most certainly did not. The air between those two was positively charged with heat that was noticeable to herself, the remaining Team Seven, and the three other ninjas in the café. 'It was such a fabulous idea to move here. I haven't been this entertained for months!' She gave herself a silent round of applause and a pat of the back for being brilliant.

Her attention was directed outward when she heard the door chime and an excited shout of "Iruka-sensei!". Looking forward, she saw the sheepish entry of one Iruka Umino, who was smiling kindly at a bouncing Naruto who had bee-lined to one of his favorite people and was currently babbling about his delicious lunch and the amazing Hedwig-san. Hermione remembered the way Iruka had treated them kindly at the Hokage's Tower and how he patiently explained things to help them adjust to Konoha. The books he recommended were nicely informative without being dry too.

As she discreetly perused him, Hermione reaffirmed her early opinion that Iruka was a handsome man. His body was nicely toned and his face was very handsome with his scar adding a rakish appeal to him. Plus, his innate kindness was thoroughly visible, as evident by his close relationship with Naruto. Maybe, just maybe, it was time to move beyond the betrayals of the Wizarding World. Hermione refused to be broken or bound to her past. Konoha was supposed to be a new start on life for them. Her brother had already taken his first steps in a new direction and Hermione was determined to go forth too. She wasn't sorted into Gryffindor for no reason.

As Iruka made his way to the counter where Hermione was, a fiery determination ignited in her bruised spirit. 'Carpe diem, Hermione!' she told herself. 'Regardless of success or failure, at least you tried.' The hazel eyed witch gave a bright smile to Iruka who, despite being momentarily taken aback, returned the smile happily.

"Good afternoon, Umino-san. Welcome to Apothecary Café! Please order anything you would like from our menu. Your lunch today is free of charge today. I want to personally thank you for your kindness to my brother and I when we first arrived. The reading recommendations you gave me were truly wonderful. If you don't mind, I would love to sit down and discuss some questions with you?" She gave an appraising look from underneath her eyelashes and watched happily as Iruka blushed and stammered an agreement before he shyly directing his attention to the menu.

Go, go Gryffindor, indeed!

* * *

Harry excitedly led Ibiki up the stairs to the second floor that had previously been converted into an office area, a private restroom, and a comfortable break room. He shivered in anticipation, feeling the jounin's heated gaze firmly directed towards his swaying bottom as he climbed up the stairs in front of Ibiki. He could feel the slow stirring of his magic moving in tempo to the pulsation of lust in his veins. Upon reaching the top of the stairs, he purposely injected a sensual edge to his walk as he moved towards the private office. Before he could open the door to the room, he felt hands grip his hip and was gently, but swiftly, spun around. His back was pressed against the unopened door as Ibiki stepped forward until their bodies were mere centimeters apart.

Ibiki leaned in and gave a teasing nip to his koneko's left ear. "Sweet minx, do you really think it is wise to tease me so?" he rumbled huskily against Harry's skin, his lips depositing a slow trail of kisses that cumulated into a sharp bite against his throat. "One would think you almost wanted to be …._punished_."

Harry felt a little gasp of pleasure escape his lips at Ibiki's sensual bite. With the jounin's dark voice purring into his ear, his hips gave an involuntary jerk, signaling his unspoken demands to the shinobi. Never one to let an opportunity slip through his fingers, Ibiki closed the gap between them and passionately kissed his Emerald while moving one hand downwards to expertly grab one of the wizard's legs and lifted it up to his waist. This freed the jounin to press his body closer and begin to softly undulate against the panting chef.

The kisses were now hot and heavy, as tongues became involved while hands snaked up and down their partner's body. Soft pants and moans were breathlessly uttered by the wizard whenever Ibiki pulled back to give attention to his ears or neck in between passionate kisses. The husky words of appreciation from the warrior just heightened Harry's arousal. Realizing he was on the verge of embarrassing himself by plummeting over the edge, Harry reluctantly pulled back and broke their kiss.

"Talk" he panted, a slight arch in his back as the wizard pushed his bottom into Ibiki's bold hands. "We have to talk, remember?" gasped Harry, as he lowered his face into the jounin's shoulders, arms tightening into an embrace around his neck.

"Ah. So we do" Ibiki turned his head and nuzzled his Emerald's hair before giving a gentle kiss on the soft ebony locks. He straightened up, pulled Harry's legs firmly around his waist, and turned the doorknob to stroll into the office. Looking around the room, he briefly glanced at the two desks that were facing each other from opposite walls and zoomed in on the plush leather couch that was facing the door. Kicking the door shut, Ibiki made sure his hold was secured and stalked over to the couch while carrying his minx in his arms. The ninja stood in front of the couch and turned around before sitting with Harry straddling his hips. The blush that Harry sported when he noticed his new compromising position made him even more attractive to Ibiki.

Harry pushed down his shyness and gave a quick kiss to Ibiki's lips and leaned back. "So…..talk." he impishly demanded with a raised eyebrow.

Ibiki huffed a quiet laugh under his breath and settled into the comfortable couch. He gave a light punishing pinch to Harry's thigh before stating the reason for his impromptu visit. "Did you know there is a betting pool regarding your mysterious date this evening" he blandly questioned. Ibiki expertly hid his nervousness behind an impressive mask. He silently wondered if Harry would still want a relationship with him. Public speculation and scrutiny was a heavy burden to bear.

"What?" exclaimed the wizard. Dismay was quickly clearing the haziness of lust in his vein.

Ibiki heaved a heavy sigh. "Apparently, there is a betting pool run by the Hokage regarding our date tonight. Shinobi, with the exception of jounins, are placing bets as to who the 'mysterious jounin' you are dating is. Its nothing to be alarmed about, just another sign that a lot of ninjas need better hobbies.' he declared as he ran a comforting hand up and down Harry's back. "Its…..well its also a sign that if you date me, you _will_ come under public scrutiny by the shinobi corps, and eventually, the civilians too."

The jounin took a deep breath and continued, trying not to let the way Emerald just tensed in his lap bother him. "I…..Hell, I just want to know if you still want to pursue a relationship with me. Are you okay with still going on a date? Despite the knowledge that people are going to watch and talk about it later?" He stared firmly into green eyes that were regarding him just as intensely.

Harry was momentarily thrown off balance that his barely new love life was already a matter of open gossip. However, he clearly saw the worry and fear that Ibiki tried to hide from him. He suddenly knew that Ibiki was just as apprehensive as he was , but the shinobi was still willing to push forward and brave the masses just for the opportunity to know him better. Him. Not the Boy Who Lived. Not the Wizarding World's Savior. And certainly not the Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter. Just him. Plain ole Harry Potter.

That knowledge caused his muscles to relax as a feeling of happiness and exhilaration swept through his body. He gave a slow but gentle kiss and pulled back to look directly into Ibiki's eyes.

"I don't care. Let them speculate and gossip all they want too. I know how I feel about you. Being with you, here and now, feels wonderful. Unbelievable. And it feels right. So, yes Ibiki Morino. I would love to still go on a date with you. Pursue a relationship with you."

Harry gave another soft kiss. "Public be damned. Besides, if they're mostly just a bunch of retarded idiots who can treat Naruto so shabbily, the hell with them too!" he declared passionately.

Ibiki couldn't restrain his amusement. The feeling of relief that burst through his body needed a way to be released. Plus, the cute pout on his koneko's face was too adorably cute.

After a delightful and arousing 'snog session' (as Harry called it), he departed to return back to his office. They had agreed to meet in front of the Apothecary Café at 7 o'clock to publically declare and flaunt their new relationship to everybody. He was now eagerly anticipating their date, all previous nerves firmly exorcised. He prowled into his office and gave another brief nod to Anko, who had yelled a welcome back greeting to him.

Ibiki settled down into his desk chair and placed the lunch that Harry had quickly packed together for him. He opened his lunch and noticed the way Anko kept looking at his direction. 'Not again' he sighed.

Unlike before, Anko's gaze drifted back and forth at the ceiling and his direction. When Ibiki spotted that key difference, he narrowed his eyes in suspicions. Giving into the inevitable, he looked up at the ceiling above his desk.

The Torture and Interrogation Headquarters suddenly rang with a belligerent roar.

"Anko! What the hell did you do to my ceiling?!"

* * *

Posted: 2/13/13 Word Count: Over 5, 600 words.

Thank you for reading my story. Please take a moment and review. Thanks a million!

Author's Notes: Warning – next chapter may or may not contain a smut scene with Harry and Ibiki. Still struggling with the moral dilemma of should Harry put out on the first date. Decisions, decisions.

No, this will not be a Sakura bashing fic. She does need to grow up though and break out of her perpetual fangirl syndrome. Because Sasuke hadn't defected from the village, she remains a foolish and naïve girl. Expect it to be knocked out of her, one way or another.

Hedwig in the cafe: I know that would be a serious health violation in the real world, but it would be fine in Konoha. Its the land of summoning animals. Nobody questions the Inuzuka dogs or Tsunade's pig, so an owl in a cafe wouldn't be unusually.

As a side note, I will try to post another chapter this upcoming Sunday. Please understand that I do work full time as a teacher, and this chapter was fortunately written during a three day Mardi-Gras holiday break. So if I don't manage it, the next chapter will be up by 02/24/13.

Please look forward to it!


	7. Chapter 6 - Of Dramas and Dates

Two Scarred Souls Heal Each Other

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Naruto. They belong to their respective authors and publishing/media companies.

Warning: Yaoi/Slash. Harry/Ibiki. Please don't read if its not your cup of tea.

Author's Notes: Sincere apologizes to my beta: Latte2. All mistakes and errors are all mine. She never got a chance to look over this chapter.

To my readers – I am so, so sorry that this chapter was posted so late. I struggled with this chapter from start to finish. I sincerely hope the next chapter will be written easier and posted by next weekend.

Once again all comments, critiques, and pm's are heartedly welcomed. Please review!

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Chapter 6: Of Council Dramas and First Dates

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**Saturday, the Day of the First Date**

It was three in the afternoon and Harry was mentally preparing himself for his date this evening. Luckily the hours of the café wouldn't interfere with his night out. Hermione and Harry had agreed to not let the Café consume their waking hours so it was only opened Tuesday through Saturday from 7 am to 7 pm, Sunday was their day off, and Monday was for restocking and completing dried potions. Harry planned to dash upstairs to clean up and change in order to be ready to meet Ibiki at the café tonight. Fortunately, freshening charms were easy to cast unnoticeably and silently. The earlier meeting with Ibiki had settled a lot of his nerves, but he was still indecisive about how much intimacy he was comfortable with. Despite today's lunchtime snog session, the wizard did not want to give the impression of being a tease or easy. Never the less, he was looking forward to tonight's date and fervently hoped it would end well.

The door chimed and he listened to his sister warmly greet Iruka Umino. Harry smirked as he remembered the way the two were subtly flirting when he came back downstairs with Ibiki. It was reassuring to see his sister willing to try dating again. It was a clear sign that she would not limit her future because of her past. However, his smirk quickly became a frown when it became apparent that Umino was at the café in his official capacity as a Konoha ninja. Harry whipped off his apron and left the kitchen to see what the situation was.

Hermione stared incredulously at Iruka. She turned when she heard her brother's approach. "Apparently, the Civilian Council has logged a complaint about a dangerous animal in our café. A certain Councilwoman is demanding a full apology, recompensation, and execution of Hedwig for the unprovoked attack on her daughter."

At the word 'execution', cold anger and vengeance moved through the powerful wizard. 'How dare _anybody_ demand the death of Hedwig!' he seethed internally. There was no way he would ever allow his beloved owl to be killed over the hurt pride of a fangirl. Hedwig didn't survive a war only to meet her end over a spoiled bint and her bloody mother. The council could kiss his magical ass!

Iruka felt decidedly uneasy over the absurdity of this situation. He knew the Hokage would never agree to the execution of a much loved pet. However, he took an instinctive step back when enraged emerald eyes looked in his direction.

"Care to elaborate about what my sister is talking about, Umino-san?" growled Harry menacingly.

"Ahh….Councilwoman Haruno has filed a complaint with Hokage-sama with the backing of the Civilian Council. Due to your owl's attack on her daughter at lunch, she is demanding a full apology, recompensation, and the death of your owl for being a dangerous animal to the public." Iruka noticed the aura of anger increasing and briefly wondered if a civilian could generate killing intent. He brushed that thought aside and hurried his explanation along. "The Hokage is requesting your presence in an emergency meeting to present your side of the story. If the matter cannot be resolved, other shinobi will be sent to gather additional witnesses who were present during the incident as well. Please come with me to the Hokage's Tower for the meeting."

Iruka watched curiously as the siblings turned and exchanged silent communications with each other. After a flurry of looks and head shakes, Harry and Hermione gave their attention back to Iruka.

"Excuse me for a moment, Umino-san, while I go upstairs to change into something more presentable. I will be back shortly." Harry swiftly went upstairs after uttering his statement, leaving Iruka with a less intimidating, but still visibly upset, Hermione.

"Will the Hokage seriously execute Hedwig? Harry will leave before he would willingly allow harm to come to his familiar?" Hermione asked earnestly.

'Familiar? I wonder what that means?' Iruka thought before he answered the witch. "In my opinion, I don't believe the council will go to such lengths to execute a bird. This is probably a hastily put together ploy to establish influence over your brother and yourself."

"Influence?" Hermione asked with a raised eyebrow.

"There are rumors circulating about your family's wealth and prestige, especially in regards to being favored by the Daimyo. Plus, your close, ah, relationship with Naruto is distressing to some people."

"So they threaten his owl in order to control Harry?" A slow vindictive laugh emerged from the witch.

Iruka stared at Hermione in shock. A chill ran up his spine in response to her malicious satisfaction. The chunin was starting to realize that the council may have picked a petty fight with a formidable opponent. When Harry reappeared, his realization was solidified. The green eyed brunet had changed out of his usual kimono into black linen trousers and a silk button up shirt. The garments were noticeably expensive and high class. The aura of simmering anger and power circulated around the man and projected the image of a powerful, rich young lord on a warpath.

The upcoming meeting will certainly not go according to the Civilian Council's plans.

* * *

Tsunade mentally sighed as she looked upon the hastily assembled Konoha Council. The council chamber was laid out in a U shape. The Shinobi Council was seated on the left of the Hokage, while the Civilian Council was on the right of the Hokage. The Hokage sat at the middle table with her advisors seated beside her. Tsunade looked to the right and left of her, and made a mental note to choose new advisors. She didn't trust the trio of elders despite being Sarutobi's teammates and his ex-rival. The Senju Princess firmly believed that they had too much power and were giving the civilian council members an overly inflated ego and sense of importance. She still could not believe that Councilwoman Haruno was spewing such vitriol over her daughter being 'mauled' by an owl. The fact it was Hadrian Potter-Black's owl meant this meeting could get long and ugly.

She glanced at the shinobi council members. Most of the clan heads did not bother to hide their disgust and dislike of their civilian counterparts. The sleazy expressions of barely concealed anticipation on three of the civilian council members' faces were nauseating to look upon. Like Iruka, the Hokage and shinobi council were convinced that this was a shabby plot by the civilian council to gain control of the Potter-Blacks. How successful this attempt would be remained to be seen.

"Well, Lady Hokage, where is Potter-Black san? He needs to apology to my daughter as soon as possible. Poor Sakura is absolutely traumatized." called out Councilwoman Haruno in a shrilled voice.

Tsunade looked sharply at the woman but before she could reply, the council chamber doors were abruptly opened. Standing in the doorway was an extremely angry, elegantly dressed, intimidating young man.

As he confidently strolled into the room, his green eyes swept the chamber. He bowed politely to the Hokage and gave brief nods to Inoichi and Shikaku. When Harry stopped in the center of the room, his eyes locked with laser precision on the smug Haruno and cohorts. His stance and expression continuously conveyed his annoyance and displeasure at being there.

"Good afternoon, Potter-Black san. We asked you to come to this meeting due to an incident in which your pet owl was rumored to have attacked a young genin, Sakura Haruno." drawled out Lady Hokage.

"It is not a rumor, it is true. That menacing beast attacked my poor daughter in front of everybody in their café!" rudely interrupted Councilwoman Haruno.

"Cease your interruptions, Councilwoman Haruno, or you will be escorted out of this room. This is the Council Chambers of Konoha and a certain code of conduct is demanded from all members when present in this room." rebuked the Hokage.

Councilwoman Haruno was sufficiently deterred by the looks of agreement and chastisement on the clan head faces and half of the civilian members too. Despite the public censor, she sniffed her nose, straightened her spine arrogantly, and stared accusingly at Harry, as if blaming him for the Hokage's words.

Years of being the receiving end of Snape's death glare meant her attempt of intimidation was pathetic and slightly amusing to the wizard. Never the less, that rubbish was the reason why Hedwig was being threatened. Harry stared back and his eyes flashed warnings and threats in return. He swept her thin and unattractive frame before dismissing her and looked at the Hokage. Harry was disturbed by the realization that Mrs. Haruno was disgustingly similar to his aunt. If she had a flower name too, he won't be surprised if the Evans were distantly related to the two pink haired harpies.

The Hokage was beginning to be amused by the drama in the council chamber. It took only one minute to realize the civilians members' plans were going up in flame. By no means would Potter-Black be naively lead or coerced by such transparent manipulations. The way he scared the civilians just by standing there was priceless. 'I see why Ibiki is interested in him. Despite his appearance, he is quite formidable and powerful' thought the Hokage. 'They'll make such a cute couple!'

"Continuing on, we called you here in order to get your side of the story. Can you please detail the events of the incident and why your pet reacted so harshly?" instructed the Hokage.

"Certainly, Lady Hokage. This afternoon, Genin Team 7 was courteously invited to dine at the Apothecary Café. I have recently employed young Naruto to wash dishes and help clean up the café before and after services. He wished to introduce his team and sensei to my sister and myself. Naturally, we were delighted with the ideal and offered a free lunch to his team. I personally created dishes based upon his observation of his teammates. With his employment at my restaurant, my owl, Hedwig, took a strong liking to Naruto. She is an excellent judge of character." Harry paused to gaze contemptuously at Councilman Ishikawa who had started to say something derogative about Naruto.

"When they arrived to the café, I served them lunch. They began to eat their lunches and several minutes later, Hedwig was becoming impatient as she wanted to greet Naruto. Due to a lack of conversation at the table, I allowed Hedwig to go greet Naruto." Harry stated.

"Excuse me, Potter-Black san. Was this the first time that Hedwig was allowed in the dining room portion of the café?" queried Shikaku.

"No, Nara-san, it was not. She often greets young children who enjoy feeding her small treats and petting her. Hermione and I keep a small stock of dried fruit at the counter for them to give her. In addition, some of our customers who are animal lovers, like Lady Shimiji, enjoy giving her treats as well. Hedwig is a constant presence in the café. The café was modified to allow her to come and go as she pleased, with several perches added as decoration in the dining area." the wizard explained.

"That cannot be sanitary. How can you allow a beast in your restaurant?" questioned Councilwoman Nishimaru.

"First of all, Hedwig is not a beast! She is a extremely intelligent and extensively trained owl. Secondly, she is highly valuable in regards to her ability and specialized breed. Snowy owls are rare birds of prey due to their preference to stay in cold environments." defended the wizard.

"What do you mean by highly trained?" Inoichi was curious because only nin animals were trained and he had never heard of a nin-owl.

"Hedwig is a postage owl. In my homeland, postage owls are used for mail delivery in order to ensure letters or packages only goes to the right recipient. In order to become a postage owl, they go through extensive training. All post owls are able to deliver mail with only a name and/or destination." Harry explained.

"Wait, so your owl can deliver mail to anybody? Regardless of not knowing the person beforehand that will receive the mail?"

"Correct. Hedwig used to deliver my mail within a 500 mile range. She did not have to know the recipient to deliver the mail. The ability of the post owl to deliver their mail accuracy depends on their level of training and intelligence. As one of the most intelligent species of owl, Hedwig was trained to the highest levels. Her purchase price significantly reflected her value and ability." By now, Harry was exaggerating. But Hedwig was certainly priceless to Harry, so if the council believed she was valued at hundreds of gallons, all the better for him.

"Incredible. I have never heard of a message bird who can deliver mail to any person. Most of the time, they can only deliver to individuals they know or certain buildings like the Academy and such." stated Tsume, impressed by the level of dedication it took to train any animal to such lengths. She knew Inuzuka nin-dogs could hardly boast the same ability, and they were trained since puppyhood.

"Regardless of her so called 'training', that menace still attacked my daughter! How do you explain that Potter-Black san?" demanded Haruno imperiously.

"Your daughter was rude and crass in my café. When Hedwig greeted Naruto, she screamed loudly and shrilly while she rudely pointed at Hedwig who was calmly perched on Naruto's shoulder. When Naruto tried to explain her presence, young Sakura shouted nonsense and proceeded to punch my worker on the head. That blow startled Naruto and jarred Hedwig. In short, that 'attack' you keep harping about was instigated by your daughter from start to finish!" he sharply retorted.

"How dare you insult my daughter! Sakura is a perfectly mannered young lady!" screamed Haruno.

"Your daughter is a spoiled fangirl whose idiotic posturing does not impress anybody, least of all her object of obsession." Harry coldly bit out. "That foolish child had the audacity to screech in the presence of a hearing sensitive pet and then hits a person in which said pet has affections for. Is it any wonder that Hedwig reacted in such a manner – she was only defending herself and Naruto from unprovoked aggression from your ignorant daughter! Given your behavior in public, it's no wonder she displayed such crude manners. She obviously learned such conduct at home!"

Meibuki Haruno was apoplectic with rage. 'How dare that young upstart dare insult and demean my daughter in front of the noble council of Konoha!' she screamed internally. Before she could spew a tirade in response to his statements, Harry pressed his point onwards.

"Inuzaku-san, if somebody screamed at Kiba-kun before hitting him, how would Akamaru-kun react?" he asked politely to the matriarch of the Inuzuka clan.

"Viciously, of course. Inuzuka nin-dogs are protective of their partners!" Her vindictive sneer was echoed by her partner's sharp bark of agreement.

"Exactly. Plus, she only used light pecks and slaps of her wings. Hedwig could have used her claws if she wanted to inflect maximum damage. So it was hardly an attack at all." Harry said smugly.

"It was still an attack! Sakura is traumatized from being mauled by that vicious bird, highly trained or not." shrilled Haruno.

"Did she go to the doctor? Was she bleeding or severely bruised? No, right? The only thing that was injured is her pride." retorted Harry.

"She may not have been heavily injured but she is still traumatized by it." Meibuki Haruno could see that she would not be able to recoup recompensation for her daughter, much less an execution of an expensive pet. However, she refused to let her daughter be viewed as a fool.

She failed to realize that the remainder of the council viewed both Harunos as foolish and arrogant. The clan heads were mostly amused by her claims of 'trauma', because they knew the world was much crueler than a humiliating set down by an owl. Lady Hokage was mentally betting how many times Haruno will say 'trauma' or 'traumatized'. Six more times and she could reward herself with sake!

"Was she really 'traumatized' by this incident? I fail to see how she can aspire to be a kuniochi if such a minor chastisement causes trauma. After all, she is living in a world where her enemies won't hesitate to kill her if she is lucky." Harry was frowning at the woman, honestly dismayed over her and her daughter's naivety.

The change of conversation was a subject of interest for the shinobi in the room. Each ninja knew such illusions and arrogance wouldn't last in the field. The girl would be better off if she'd quit now as opposed to being an active ninja.

"My daughter can handle being a ninja. She just wasn't expecting an attack in her own village." sniffed Haruno distastefully, an ugly scowl marred her face.

" Enemies rarely announce their plans to attack or ambush. Your daughter was caught unaware and has learned a valuable lesson. For a genin to pursue such actions in response for a provoked attack from a highly trained animal is illogical and shameful." Shibi Aburame said calmly. "If your daughter is 'traumatized' from this situation, she should seek another career option or pursue another path in the shinobi corps."

"What?" screeched Haruno, completely dismayed over how the meeting was derailing her plans. She was confused over how her daughter went from being a victim to an incompetent kuniochi.

"Perhaps, she should pursue a career in the medical profession. Her records do state that she is intelligent and has excellent chakra control. I would be happy to assist her in such an endeavor." said the Hokage, with an earnest expression on her face as she looked at Meibuki Haruno.

Tsunade planned to only refer the girl to the right people in the hospital, but she wanted to convey the mistaken impression of a possible apprenticeship with Sakura's mother. The last Senju was fond of Naruto and wanted to get the pinkette away from him through any legal means. Plus, the girl would probably make an excellent medic-nin once she broke out of her fangirl syndrome.

"That is one possibility. I will have a serious conversation with Sakura this afternoon to discuss this new development. Thank you, Lady Hokage, for your generous offer." Haruno said with a calculating look in her eyes. If Sakura becomes an apprentice to the Legendary Medic-Nin Tsunade, it would be one step closer to her being Mrs. Sasuke Uchiha.

Hook, line, and sinker.

Harry caught Tsunade's eye and gave a very subtle nod of gratitude to her. He recognized her sly manipulation to steer the pink banshee away from Naruto and into an admirable profession. Her departure from Team 7 would also benefit Sasuke – who would be able to learn, grow, and hopefully relax without Sakura stalking him instead of training. He signed mentally. 'Well time to sweeten the pot. Hopefully, she'll grow up and Hermione won't kill me.'

"While Hedwig's actions were provoked, it is regretfully that it occurred in our place of business. Therefore, I am willing to pay 1,000 ryos as an apology and give her a rare tome on medical herbology. Hopefully, the book will prove useful if she decides to enter the medical profession." the wizard said with regal nod.

"Well, that seems most satisfactory. Are you agreeable to the concessions by Potter-Black san, Councilwoman Haruno?" asked the Hokage.

Meibuki Haruno was still dazed by the dreams of her daughter being Tsunade's apprentice and the Uchiha Clan matriarch. The money was a respectable amount and they would be able to boast about the ownership of a rare medical herbology book. She nodded her head stiffly in response to the Hokage's question. At least now Sakura was thought to be a promising medic-nin as opposed to a hapless kuniochi. The small concession was better than nothing.

"Excellent. Then this meeting is adjourned. Potter-Black san, a moment of your time, please." announced Tsunade.

Harry and Tsunade watched the remainder of the council leave the room. The Hokage had to glare forcefully in order to encourage Danzo and Homaru to not stay and 'advise' her private meeting. She knew they would be eavesdropping but she still did not want them in the room.

"The ability of your owl is very unique. Is there any way to acquire more postage owls with the same ability?" she asked. Having accurate and efficient courier birds would be a great boon to Konoha.

Harry paused and tilted his head backwards as he thought over the Hokage's request. Signing deeply, he looked from the ceiling to Tsunade. "Buying the owls would be an easy feat, but it's the transport of the birds here that poses a problem. In addition, they may have to be retrained for delivery in the Elemental Countries as this is unfamiliar terrain for the owls. All in all, I don't know for certain if it's a feasible venture but I can make some inquiries and inform you of the results."

"Ah. Please do." Tsunade rose from her chair to go back to her office. Seeing the meeting was over, Harry gave a brief bow of farewell, and turned to walk out the room. Before he could exit the room, Tsunade's voice rang out as she bid once last remark.

"Have fun on your date, Potter-Black san. Don't forget to treat him gently!"

Harry pondered if a retreat to the sound of laughter would become a common occurrence after every audience with the Hokage.

* * *

Ibiki stalked slowly to the Apothecary Café. The rest of the afternoon was relatively calm after he forced Anko to remove all the dango sticks embedded in the ceiling above his desk. Why she decided to create the Konoha leaf emblem was beyond his comprehension. Ibiki was comfortable dressed in black slacks and a dark grey button up shirt. He threw a black leather trench coat over his clothes as it could get cold at night. As he reached the café's door, it opened and revealed Hermione who was just leaving.

"Oh, Morino-san, good evening! Would you like to come inside and wait? Harry should be down shortly to meet you and lock up the café. I would keep you company but I have a meeting at the Scroll Book Store. Do you mind waiting alone?" the witch rattled out as she gestured the jounin inside the restaurant.

"No, Hermione-san. I don't mind waiting alone. Thank you for your kindness." Ibiki nodded his head in farewell and watched as the curly haired brunet hurried out into the street. He glanced around the café and turned in the direction of the stairwell as he heard footsteps coming down the stairs. Ibiki could feel his breathe hitch slightly as he saw the vision of elegance and seduction that was walking towards him.

Harry was extremely grateful that he went completely crazy during his kimono shopping spree when they first moved to Konoha. He had bought several formal kimonos despite his firm belief that he would never have an occasion such elegant garments. The wizard was glad that his preconceived notion was completely inaccurate. For his first date, Harry had selected a gorgeous black kimono decorated with a tree and emerald leaves and matching emerald obi. He wore a matching haori over the kimono in preparation for the evening chill in the air. The wizard's hair was lightly tousled and looked utterly touchable.

When he reached the bottom of the stairs, Harry looked up and was surprised to see Ibiki was waiting in the dining area. The jounin moved into the middle of the room and the wizard happily looked the ninja up and down.

Ibiki was amused and aroused to see a blush bloom over his minx's cheek. He smirked when he caught his koneko's emerald gaze and purposely swept his gaze over the wizard's body. A warm smile and dark chuckles erupted from his lips when Harry blushed redder and shyly looked under his eyelashes as he ventured closer.

"Good evening, koibito. You look very ravishing tonight." the jounin greeted before gently reaching for him and pulling him into a passionate kiss. Harry happily leaned into the kiss as he thoroughly enjoyed Ibiki's expertise in this arena.

After they broke apart, Harry smoothed a hand down Ibiki's shirt and looked up at him. "You look very handsome tonight too, Ibiki. So, where are we going?" he questioned with a saucy smile on his face.

Ibiki returned his smile and gave another gentle kiss as he tucked a lock of hair behind Harry's left ear. "I made reservation at the Counting Kunai. It's a respectable restaurant owned by a retired jounin. Our privacy will be guaranteed, so I hope you enjoy it." He gently rubbed his thumb across Harry's left cheek as he slowly released the lock of hair he was just holding.

Like an innocent kitten, Harry tilted his head into Ibiki's touch. "If you chose it, I am sure it will be perfect. Shall we go so I can lock up?" he inquired with a soft smile.

"Ah. Let's. I would hate to lose our reservations. Kami knows, I would hate to have to cook for you so early in our relationship. I'd probably curdle your stomach." the shinobi declared with a huff of laughter as he walked with Harry to the exit.

"Well, lucky for you, my good man, I happen to be an excellent cook. I suppose I can be burdened to cook for us if we fail to meet our reservation time. Hermione would never let me leave it down if my boyfriend gave me food poisoning." He shuddered playfully before joining Ibiki in light laughter.

As he watched his koneko lock the restaurant's door, a warm feeling settled into Ibiki. 'My boyfriend.' mused the jounin. He loved how his green eyed minx so calmly referred to him as such. When the wizard was done, Ibiki gave another light kiss against Harry's head, placed a hand at the small of his back, and leisurely led his Emerald in the direction of the Counting Kunai.

Along the way, both men enjoyed watching people's reaction to seeing them as a couple. They quietly exchanged humorous comments regarding the myriad of hilarious facial expressions the entire walk to the restaurant.

* * *

Harry looked around the restaurant as they followed the smartly attired hostess to their table. The restaurant was elegantly furnished and discretely lit by pendent lights and scones. They were led through the dining room and into a hallway with private rooms. The hostess opened a sliding door to reveal a traditional Japanese dining room and bowed politely as she gestured for them to enter the room.

"Please be seated. Your dinner will be served shortly. Please partake of the drinks and appetizers that is present on the table. If you need anything else, do not hesitate to let us know how we can serve or assist you. Please enjoy your evening at the Counting Kunai. We sincerely appreciate your patronage." She spoke in a clear and polite tone. With one last bow, she closed the door and left the couple in the room.

Ibiki bent down to take off his shoes before turning to see if Harry needed assistance with his own footwear. The wizard was staring bemusedly at the room, enchanted by the traditional low black furniture, tatami mats, and silk screen decorations. It was a start contrast from the modern dining area they just passed through.

"Koneko, you have to take off your shoes before stepping on the dining platform. It's tradition and good manners." Ibiki called out, drawing Harry's attention back to the shoe cabinet that was placed against the entrance wall.

"Oh! Sorry, I was distracted by the room." Harry rushed over and quickly removed his sandals with Ibiki assisting him in maintaining his balance. After closing the shoe cabinet, they stepped onto the dining platform and sat down at the low table.

Ibiki patiently explained the assortment of appetizers that were present on the table and enjoyed Harry's look of delight as he tried each one. They sipped their tea and engaged in light conversation over favorite foods and hobbies. Harry was surprised to hear that Ibiki's favorite dish was sauteed enokitake served with any type of meat. He mentally reminded himself find more Japanese cookbooks. Ibiki hasn't surprised to learn that Harry loved treacle tarts and sweets. However, the explanation that he never had sweets as a child concerned the jounin. He had the feeling that there was a story behind that statement – a story he would not enjoy.

Their conversation was temporarily halted when the servers appeared to place the rest of their meal on the table. There was a plethora of meats and side dishes placed upon the table. Harry liked the noodle dishes and loved the grilled fish that was served. The conversation continued throughout dinner and gently slowed down during the desert of an assortment of daifuke and mochi cakes with fresh fruit. As they sipped small cups of sake, potent sexual tension built up between the two men.

Ibiki watched Harry intensely, his black eyes focused on the wizard as the brunet licked his lips of elusive sake drops. Seeing the looks of heated arousal in the ninja's eyes, Harry felt a bolt of confidence spread through him. The wizard gave a slow smirk and crooked his finger in a come hither gesture. The jounin gave a low growl in response and predatorily stalked to the other side of the table.

Within seconds, Harry found himself recline on the floor and pinned by an aroused Ibiki. The jounin's body was stretched on top of the wizard, while he balanced his weight to not crush Harry. One of his large hands ran teasingly through ebony locks and stopped to lightly message his scalp. Harry practically purred into the caress, entwined his arms around Ibiki's neck and drew him downwards to continue their passionate 'snog' session from this afternoon. Ibiki tilted Harry's head upward and seized control, wantonly exploring the brunet's mouth in a scorching kiss.

Harry was going delirious, drowning in the sensual pleasures that Ibiki was arousing within him. He felt his length hardening and the instinctive need to move his hips to create the delicious friction his body craved. The wizard sharply jerked his hips with an arch of his back and moved in a sensual manner, silently conveying his intentions to the jounin. Harsh sounds filled the air as each man moaned in pleasure between heavy lustful kisses. Their bodies engaged in an age old dance of friction, thrusts, and sinful pressure.

Eventually, Ibiki had the sense to roll off of Harry before either man could reach a climax. Panting slightly, he breathed heavily as he fought viciously to rein in control of his body. Slight tremors racked his 6'4'' frame while he gazed unseeingly at the wooden ceiling. Ibiki was torn between amusement and horror over the way Harry could challenge his finely wrought control. Hell, he hadn't acted like this even when he was a hormonal teenager. The jounin felt his Emerald cuddle against his side, one slender leg thrown over his hip while an elegant hand slowly played with the buttons of his shirt.

"Uhm, Ibiki? I… well… I ." Harry stammered. 'Merlin! Why the bloody hell can't I talk now! Man up Harry, before you write a check your arse can't cash!' he ranted at himself.

Ibiki turned on his side and gave a gentle kiss on Harry's forehead. He smirked lightly when he heard the way his Emerald's breathe hitched and his body jerk faintly at the soft touch. The jounin reveled in the way Harry responded to his body, glances, and touches.

"Shhh, Koneko. We'll go as fast or as slow as you want us to, okay." He another soft kiss against Harry's lip and smiled at the look of happiness and appreciation in his Emerald's eyes. Ibiki had spoken the truth - he was absolutely willing to move at Harry's pace. Years in the shinobi corps had taught him patience and respectfulness of other people's comfort zones.

Harry smiled contentedly and snuggled closer to Ibiki. After a few minutes of soft kisses and tender embraces, the two decided it was time to leave. They straightened up their appearances and retrieved their shoes. After exiting the restaurant, Ibiki once again pulled Harry close and placed a protective hand on his back as they walked towards the Potter-Black estate. The jounin refused to allow his Emerald to walk back alone and served as a silent sentinel against danger during their walk through the village.

However, their walk came to an abrupt halt as the two men encountered a surprising sight. The wizard stared in disbelief before he forced himself to ask an important question:

"Naruto? What are you doing?"

* * *

Posted: 2/25/2013 Word Count: Over 5,700.

Thank you for reading my story. Please take a moment and review. Thanks a million!

Author's Notes:

A thousand apologizes for the late posting of the story. It was supposed to be posted on 2/24/13 but it was regrettably delayed. Hopefully, the next chapter will go more smoothly!

Sakura's recompensation – its roughly 100 dollars.

roobug21301 - thanks for pointing out that mistake! Its fixed now.

Mabidiso - thank you for the correction of marinara sauce. That was an embarrassing mistake.

redxbloodxblackxdeath - you never know, animal lovers can get their violence on too! Thanks for catching that typo. It has been corrected.

I will be paying my dues and officially joining the Gulf Coast chapter of the Romance Writers of America this Saturday. Yay! Once step closer to becoming a professional writer. Woo-hoo!


	8. Chapter 7 - A Fox in the Lions' Den

Two Scarred Souls Heal Each Other

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Naruto. They belong to their respective authors and publishing/media companies.

Warning: Yaoi/Slash. Harry/Ibiki. Please don't read if its not your cup of tea.

Author's Notes: Three cheers for my beta: Latte2. Best of luck on your novella!

To my readers – Once again, I must sincerely apology for the lateness of this chapter. Unfortunately, its tardiness is the result of a computer malfunction as opposed to procrastination. The laptop is still broken but I managed to recover this chapter. Yay!

Once again all comments, critiques, and pm's are very much welcomed. Please review!

Furthermore, I am extremely thankful for all of your reviews too. Most of them are hilarious and brighten up my days considerably. Thank you!

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Chapter 7: A Fox in the Lions' Den

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**Evening, Saturday night**

Naruto's head snapped up as he peered in confusion at the direction of Harry's voice. Just moments before, he had been walking down the street and kicking pebbles in frustration. The young genin stared in bemusement at Harry's and Ibiki's joined hands before a look of horror flashed across the blonde's face as the wizard's question pierced his clouded mind.

"Umm, well nothing much, Black-san." Naruto sheepishly rubbed a hand on the back of his head while his mind whirled furiously to steer the conversation to a different topic.

"Are you two out on a date?" he asked with an innocent expression upon his face.

"Yes, now don't change the subject. Why are you still out this late at night, Naruto-kun? Is something the matter?" asked Harry as he walked closer to Naruto, pulling a curious Ibiki with him.

"No, nothing is wrong. I am just getting back from late night training. See!" The blonde hastily held his arms outwards and gestured comically at his torn and dirtied orange jumpsuit.

"Oh, okay than." Harry hummed slightly while scanning the genin closely for injuries. "Well then, we'll walk you home as it is late and you really shouldn't be walking alone at this time of night." He beamed a happy smile at the suddenly appalled genin and gestured happily with one hand for Naruto to lead the way.

"What! No! You don't have too. I will be fine by myself." yelped the teenager, completely aghast and panicked by the suggestion.

"It's no bother at all, Naruto-kun. I'll sleep better knowing you made it home safely rather than wondering all night." soothingly stated his boss. By now, the wizard and the jounin knew something was wrong with the young shinobi. They watched for a few moments as the genin hopelessly tried to come up with a good enough excuse to politely decline their escort home.

"The truth would be appreciated, Uzumaki-san." Ibiki bluntly declared. While he did possess patience, he just wasn't willing to have his koneko linger out in the chilled evening air over a genin's shyness.

Naruto stared at the couple before sighing in defeat and hunching his shoulders in embarrassment.

"My landlord kicked me out." He mumbled under his breath, head bowed as he looked at the ground.

"What? What do you mean your landlord kicked you out?" Harry let go of Ibiki's hand and walked directly in front of the genin. The wizard placed one hand on Naruto's shoulder while his other hand lifted the defeated blonde's chin up to look him in the eyes. "Naruto, please explain what is going on. All I want to do is understand and help you." His emerald eyes pleaded for cooperation and conveyed his sincerity to the teen's guarded sapphire orbs.

Gradually the tension in Naruto's shoulder was released as he leaned into Harry for comfort.

"My landlord raised my rent again. He's been doing this more often since I graduated from the Academy. I don't have enough money to pay for the additional rent increase right now." he softly explained, his feelings of embarrassment were subpar to the relief of finally getting genuine help.

Harry's eyes flashed angrily as a feeling of unadulterated rage temporarily overtook him. 'Damn the sheep brained mindset of these bloody gits. Wait til I get my hands on him.' fumed the wizard. Never the less, he valiantly pushed his anger aside to concentrate on the well being of Naruto and to hear the rest of his explanation.

"But I'm only locked out for tonight. I'll get the money in the morning so no worries." Naruto tried to fake a smile in the dubious hope that Black-san would let the matter go. Unsurprisingly, his hope was futile.

"Unacceptable. You're moving in with Hermione and me." came the quick retort from the wizard.

"What?" vehemently denied the genin. "I can't move in with you!"

"Why not? Your landlord is a greedy bastard and you need a place to stay. The manor has plenty of room, ergo you're moving in. Tonight. Lets go get your stuff." Harry garbed a firm hold on Naruto so the hysterical blonde couldn't run away. "Now where do you live? Point in the general direction." he commanded.

"But..but..I can't move in with you!" Naruto looked at Ibiki, realized no help was forthcoming from the jounin, and turned his attention back to Harry. His whiskered face turned mulish as he crossed his arms in defiance. "I refuse to be charity. Oww!" He whined as he gave Harry a kicked-puppy look of betrayal and rubbed his head where the wizard had delivered a sharp rap on his thick skull.

"This is not charity, nor will it ever be charity whenever I decide to help you. You are a good person, Naruto, and you don't deserve the rubbish that people constantly throw at you. We can work out an agreement that suits both of our prides later but for now, we're going to get your stuff. So march mister, before I sic Hedwig on you!" The wizard gave a teasing poke into Naruto's side which resulted in startled laughter mixed with relief.

"Okay, okay. I'll move in, but only for a little while. And I'll help with chores too." he continued to protest as he walked towards his apartment with a determined wizard and semi-amused jounin in tow.

"We'll discuss this later, Naruto-kun. Let's just focus on moving you for now." replied Harry as he trailed his new charge.

* * *

Because the apartment locks had been changed, Ibiki had to skillfully pick the numerous locks on the door. After entering, Harry and Ibiki examined the tiny apartment with shocked disbelief as Naruto moved awkwardly around the living room. The apartment complex had an unusual appearance but Naruto's apartment was severally rundown and shabby despite his attempts to maintain organization and neatness. The appliances were noisy and rusty while the cabinets were severely dilapidated in the ancient kitchen. Windows were cracked, paint was slowly peeling off in certain areas, and the flooring was worn and splotchy. All together, Harry was appalled by the living conditions of the genin and was outraged that somebody actually had the audacity to charge rent for such a derelict apartment.

Ibiki was unnerved by the poor conditions of Naruto's apartment too. As an orphan enrolled in the Ninja Academy, his rent and living expenses were paid partially by the Orphans Funds and from his inheritance so his apartment should have been much better than the dump it was. The jounin knew about Naruto's true parentage and had repeatedly scoffed at people's ignorant beliefs that the young boy looked like the Yondaime as a way for Kyuubi's to torment Konoha. He felt deeply ashamed that the legacy of the Yondaime was mistreated to such an extent and vowed to be less passive in the future.

Together, the two men efficiently packaged Naruto's meager belongings into the sealed scrolls that Ibiki quickly created using the material in the genin's apartment. Naruto's brief trip with Jiraiya to find the Slug Princess had sparked an interest in sealing. Following a quick search for any overlooked belongings (excluding the numerous, glaring, orange jumpsuits that Harry forced the blonde to leave behind), they left the apartment after Ibiki finagled one of the locks back in place.

While stepping off the creaky staircase to the first floor, Harry and Ibiki traded dark looks of retribution as they passed the manager's apartment as the triad walked to the building's exit. Both men had paid close attention to the dirty and unkempt potbellied man who had attempted to confront Naruto when they first entered the building. Before Harry could pounce on the man, the landlord had quickly retreated into his apartment when he spotted the entourage of his most hated resident. Unfortunately for him, the new couple would most definitely be paying the man a visit to express their appreciation of his 'hospitality'.

* * *

On a brisk ten minute walk later, the small group arrived at the driveway to the fenced Potter-Black complex. When he was twenty feet away, Harry used his magic to 'ping' the wards as a warning to Hermione and Dobby that company was with him. He gave a silent prayer of gratitude that all the magical objects were safely hidden in the secret fidelius basement chambers. Harry swiftly unlocked the front gates and bid the two closer to the lion's head on iron-barred gate doors.

"This is Griff. He is an elaborate security measure that allows people to safely enter and exit the estate based upon blood or chakra recognition. This is only one of aspect our property's extensive security system. It was brought to our attention that greedy merchants would probably hire thieves to break into our house to steal the recipes of all of our medicinal teas. Hence, the security was improved with the assistance of several skilled individuals. Please place your hand in Griff's mouth and pulse your chakra. Once he records your chakra signature, you can unlock or lock the gates at your leisure. You will have to repeat the process with Godric at the Manor's door." Harry demonstrated how to place a hand in the lion's metal mouth.

Ibiki nodded his head in understanding and was the first to register his chakra with the gate guardian. He was familiar with the various ways clans secure their compounds so this wasn't unusual to him. It was only practical that the siblings guarded their prized recipes closely, especially with the public knowledge that Konoha's Hospital and Shinobi Corps had exclusive contracts with the siblings. The jounin mistakenly assumed the movement of the lion's head was the result of puppetry based seals to make it more lifelike.

Naruto was fascinated by the way the lion head seemed alive. The young blonde was determined to learn more about sealing so he could create cool things like Griff. He laughed in amusement when he felt the lion lick his hand with his tongue.

When they reached the manor, Hermione was waiting for them in the front doorway with worry and trepidation in her hazel eyes. She knew something had went awry for her brother to return home with Ibiki and Naruto. After the two shinobi registered their chakra signatures with the manor's door guardian, Godric, they were ushered inside to a richly decorated and comfortable living room to explain the situation to the apprehensive witch.

Ibiki leaned back into the unbelievably comfortable , chocolate suede couch in the living room. Harry unhesitatingly curled himself into the jounin's side while Naruto sat in a patterned wingchair and Hermione reclined on the matching suede loveseat.

"Naruto was locked out of his apartment by his barmy landlord. Turns out the berk has been randomly increasing his rent and locking him out. We found his wondering the streets when Ibiki was walking me home from our date. I decided to force him to move in and after a little bit of fussing, he wisely complied. Now, we need to come up with a fair agreement that appeases both of our male egos. Your assistance please, dear sister." Harry quickly summarized the events while silently communicating he'll explain everything in depth to her later.

"Doesn't want to be charity, right?" Seeing the quick nods of agreement from all three men in the room, she snorted in light contempt. "Men!" she exclaimed before rising up to retrieve one of her notebooks left on the kitchen table. She flipped to a blank sheet of paper before settling back into her seat.

"Okay, then. What are the conditions of this compromise?" she queried with her pen poised to begin over the paper.

After several rounds of heated debates, an agreement was reached that appealed to both sides. Naruto would pay a small rent fee of 2,000 ryos a month, help with the gardening in the greenhouse, and assist Harry with cooking meals at the manor. Harry was determined to teach the genin how to cook meals that didn't feature ramen. Rather than spending the money, the rent would be deposited into a bank account to be used to finance the renovation of one of the small houses in the Potter-Black compound. Once the house was repaired, Naruto could move into the house if he chooses too. The remainder of his rent payments would remain in the bank account for Naruto to use when he needs it.

It was way past midnight when all the parties were finally happy with the new arrangement. Hermione volunteered to show Naruto to his new quarters and there by allow the couple some privacy to say goodbye. Naruto nodded his head sleepy, bid the two men a tired farewell, and drowsily followed Hermione up the stairs to the second floor. He carried Crookshank in his arms; the cat surprisingly liked the young blond and was delighted over his deft hands at petting.

Harry leaned his head wearily into Ibiki s shoulders. Tonight had been a roller coaster of emotions. His apprehension and lust battled for dominance during dinner, and then his protectiveness and rage fought viciously after finding Naruto on the streets. All together, he was completely exhausted.

A callous hand soothingly carded through the wizard's hair as Ibiki laid a gentle kiss on the side of Harry's head. The jounin was completely captivated by his Emerald. The brunet was a intriguing mix of passion and strength. This afternoon, he had to suffer through Inoichi's smugness as the Yamanaka clan head regaled his apprentice about the latest stupidity of the Civilian Council and his koneko's swift rebuttal of the ridiculous charges.. Hearing about Harry's protectiveness over the blonde genin was completely different from witnessing it in person. Rather than being repelled by Harry's fierce temper and biting wit, Ibiki found himself further enticed by his koibito's fierce loyalty, steadfast determination, and sly cunning - all three traits were highly prized by shinobi.

Looking downwards, a low chuckle came from his lips as Ibiki noticed Harry's eyes were half closed in pleasure from the relaxing caresses of having his head petted. 'Just like a koneko.' The jounin was amused by how apt his nickname for his koibito was. 'Sexy.' he mused, observing how the wizard almost purred from having his head rubbed. 'But dangerous. Very, very dangerous.' Indeed, the jounin could feel his body starting to instinctively react to the sensual movements and enjoyment of the wizard. It was time to officially bring the date to a close.

He gave the dark brown locks another soft kiss before gently jostling the sleepy green-eyed man off his shoulders. Harry gave a soft mumble of protest but grudgingly stood up to escort the jounin to the front door. Ibiki was amused by the wizard's valiant fight against sleepiness and made a mental note for their future dates to start or end earlier. Standing just outside the door, Ibiki was surprised when Harry suddenly leered at him from inside the doorway.

"What? No goodbye kiss? Fie on you, sir." He playfully rebuked his boyfriend, only to take a short step back when Ibiki's eyes heated up with a lascivious promise.

Ibiki stalked closer to his prey and trapped Harry in a caged embrace of his arms. Harry only had a brief moment to think 'Déjà vu!' before he was swept into a wanton kiss. Ibiki wasted no time in establishing dominance in the kiss and surged Harry with skillful nips, licks, and heady touches that made the wizard thrum with pleasure. When Ibiki released him, he smirked with dark satisfaction as Harry panted slightly, desperately trying to regain his balance and breathe.

"By the way, I'll handle the situation regarding Naruto's previous landlord." he stated complacently.

Quickly, Harry's aura of debauchedness evaporated as Ibiki's words registered in his lust filled brain.

"What? Why do you get to confront that bloody git?" Harry would venomously deny any future accusations that he was whining. Judging by Ibiki's raised eyebrow and amused expression, the jounin certainly caught the juvenile undertones of his question.

"Naruto is a genin, therefore a shinobi. All matters regarding shinobi are handled by shinobi. Furthermore, as a department head, I have more resources and legal grounds to launch an investigation and persecution." Ibiki was thoroughly enjoying the disappointed expression of poutiness on his Emerald's face. The way Harry glared at him in admonishment of his visible amusement just served to increase his mirth over the situation.

"Besides, aren't you in enough trouble with the Civilian Council already? There no need to pour oil on that fire. I would hate for you to lose another book." Husky laughter erupted over Harry's sputtered dismay that the knowledge of his councilman woes had traveled to his boyfriend.

"What?...How?...Who told you?" Harry demanded as a blush tinted his cheeks a dusty hue.

"You would be surprised. I'll handle the landlord while you help Naruto. Deal?" He gave a charming boyish smile that caused the wizard to falter for a few seconds. After eyeing the jounin contemplatively, Harry reluctantly nodded his head in agreement.

"Fine, but you owe me one!" Harry insisted with a sharp finger jab to Ibiki's chest.

"Ah. So I do." Ibiki gave a quick kiss to Harry's cheek before stepping back through the doorway. He did not leave the front porch until he heard the locks tumble into place. As the ninja shinshuned away, Ibiki mentally reviewed everything he had to do and resolved to see the Hokage the next morning to launch his investigation of crimes committed against Naruto. Tsunade's affection for the genin and her realistic views of the civilians meant his queries wouldn't be brushed aside.

* * *

**Sunday Morning**

Sakura woke with a smile on her face as she smelled the hot breakfast that her mother was cooking. The pinkette was glad it was a Sunday so she could spend a relaxing day pampering herself in order to look her best for Sasuke-kun. She tossed back her pink comforter and padded over to her dressing table. The teen critically examined her face and lamented over how the harsh training and missions had damaged her formally flawless complexion.

"Sakura! Sakura! Come down so I can talk to you." Mrs. Haruno's voice drifted upstairs and caused her daughter to wrinkle her nose slightly. 'I wonder what she wants? Oh, probably to tell me how Naruto will be punished for causing that owl to attack me!' she thought with malicious glee. "I'll be right down!" she shouted back as she rushed to her adjourning bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth. Sakura quickly brushed her hair and pranced downstairs to find her mother waiting for her at the dining table, which was laden with all the girl's favorite foods.

"Wow, Mom! What's the occasion? Did Naruto-dobe get kicked out of the shinobi forces?" she asked spitefully.

"Hmph. You don't have to worry about that horrible boy any more. He's no longer important. Oh, Sakura-chan, you have such a fabulous opportunity before you!" gushed Mrs. Haruno as she hugged her daughter in happiness.

"Huh? Mom, what are you talking?" Sakura pulled herself out of her mother's embrace and moved to sit at the table. As she filled her plate with delicacies, she watched her mother flutter around the table before finally sitting down.

"Well, you are a very important young lady, Sakura-chan. Did you know that even Lady Hokage is aware of how you have wonderful chakra control. In the meeting I had with the council yesterday, she suggested that you should train to become a medic-nin."

"What? Mom, I don't want to be separated from Sasuke-kun. Ino-pig will try to steal him from me!" she huffed in disappointment, completely distressed by even the slightest suggestion to be separated from her one true love.

"Listen, honey, Lady Tsunade has offered to help you become a medic-nin. Do you know how many people want to be an apprentice to Tsunade-sama? Hundreds! You'll be a fool to pass up such an opportunity." rebuked her mother.

"But Mom! I'll still be separated from Sasuke-kun?" whined the genin girl.

"Think about it Sakura? You will be the apprentice to Lady Hokage - The Legendary Medic Nin Tsunade. As a skilled medic-nin and apprentice to the Hokage, you will be the most perfect choice for a bride – prestige, rank, and clout along with your incomparable beauty. Plus, being a medic nin means you will be absolutely healthy to restart the clan after you become the matriarch of the Uchiha family."

"Hmmm, apprentice to Lady Hokage? Bet Ino-pig would love to become Tsunade-sama's apprentice. But she can't because her chakra control isn't as good as mine! This is wonderful news. Sasuke won't be able to resist me when I am the apprentice of the Slug Sannin!" she cackled over the mental image of Ino crying in envy and Sasuke being in awe of her beauty and brains.

Her mother laughed with her, happy that her daughter was seizing the chance to further the reputation of the Haruno family. She knew Sasuke wouldn't be able to resist her beautiful, talented, and well connect daughter. The years she spent grooming Sakura into being the perfect Uchiha bride would unquestionably reap great rewards for her and her daughter.

"Excellent. We'll complete the paperwork to change your status after breakfast. We can pop into the Hokage's Tower on our way to the salon." Mrs. Haruno was going to get the full beauty package today at the spa for the two of them in celebration of this monumental day.

"Thank Kami we are going to the spa today. My poor skin is positively dry from all that vile training. I am so glad that I will be a medic-nin trainee from now one. I couldn't stand another day of getting dirty and sweaty. Ugg!" whined Sakura, shuddering in remembrance of some of the training exercises.

"Don't worry dear. That's a thing of the past now." consoled her mother.

* * *

Tsunade rubbed her brows in annoyance. The hokage had previously been ecstatic when she received the paperwork to remove Genin Haruno from active duty to the medic-nin training program. Unfortunately her good mood didn't last very long. Mere seconds afterwards, she received paperwork to transfer an unknown genin named Sai to Team Seven. This was very worrisome due to the fact that the paperwork was hand delivered by Danzo – a sure sign things were about to become problematic. Lady Hokage knew the creepy old man had an underhanded scheme up his perpetually bandaged, geriatric sleeve.

However, there wasn't another candidate to take Sakura's empty place at this time. Without three genins, Team Seven wouldn't be able to complete missions. Normally that wouldn't be a problem to have a Genin Team on standby but the lack of missions could bankrupt Naruto.

"Damned if I do, and damned if I don't. Kami-sama, I hate decisions like this." mumbled the hokage as her eyes swept back and forth between the two conflicting transfer papers.

"Oh well. Here's hoping for the best." She authorized both transfers and gave a brief prayer in hopes that her decision wouldn't lead to ruin.

Suddenly, there was a brief knock on the door. Tsunade lazily called for the person to enter and was pleasantly surprised to see Ibiki enter into the Hokage's Office. 'Ooh, I wonder how the date went late night!' she mused. However her gossiping train of thought was abruptly derailed by the ominous words spoken by the jounin.

"I need your permission to investigate illegal crimes committed against Genin Naruto Uzumaki."

* * *

Posted: 3/04/2013 Word Count: Over 4,700

Thank you for reading my story. Please take a moment and review. Thanks a million!

In response to some reviews ( *waves to TobyDR, Cocoa Girl, Venus914*) and regarding the herbal book: its a simple herbal book that was translated via a spell – thus, it was really cheap. It may be rare for the Elemental Countries but its common in the Wizarding World. Hermione and Harry aren't going to burst the delusion of its rumored value and they'll let the Harunos continue to foolishly believe they won something of great value.

Author's Notes: Please read if interested in explanations regarding certain aspects of the story:

This story has AU characteristics. 1 – Harry and Hermione appear in Konoha in August and upon their restaurant opens in September. 2 – Sasuke never leaves the village – Jiraiya helped stem most of the influence in the curse seal so its not mind controlling him. 3 – Sakura becomes a medic-nin earlier and Sai takes her place.

Regarding Ibiki – he is a good man despite his fearsome reputation as the Head of the Torture and Interrogation Division. No, he did not go out of his way to previously help Naruto, but most shinobi didn't either. Please note that the civilian council and elders maintained a lot of power under Sarutobi and Naruto was technically considered a civilian until he graduated from the Ninja Academy. As a genin, his well being fell upon his sensei and not unknown strangers/shinobi. With Tsunade's support and his public relationship with Harry, Ibiki can now run interference in Naruto's life without facing a political fallout.

Security at the Potter-Black Estate – Griff and Godric are just one of the many security measures there. Despite being able to enter and exit, Ibiki and Naruto do not have the ability to explore all the rooms at the manor. Remember the wards contain notice-me-not, muggle repelling, and specialized fidelius wards based upon magic and blood. Thus, Hermione and Harry's secrets are secure as long as they don't flaunt their magic. House elf magic specializes in remaining unseen so Dobby will remain a secret for a while too. Neither shinobi are overly surprised by the security – i.e. Griff or Godric – because they think the siblings hired people to ensure their home was secured. Their wealth is an established fact by this point in time.

Exclusive contract – it is mostly common products but of larger quantity than the products available in the Apothecary Café. However, a few products are only given to the hospital and shinobi corps such as bezoars.

Naruto's Rent – he is rather good at saving money, as witness by the plumpness of Gama-chan (his frog wallet in the anime). Harry doesn't need the money so the 200 dollars a month rent will be collected until Naruto can use it in the future – such as buying his own house, no more renting apartments from other people.

Houses at the Black-Potter Estate: they bought a family compound – its been abandoned due to the Kyuubi's attack and the remaining family members moving back to the capital. Ergo – there are other buildings/houses besides the large manor house. Eventually the potions lab will be a separate village and the siblings will eventually have separate homes. Expect other people to move in to their estate as time goes on.


	9. Chapter 8 - Let the Plotting Begin

Two Scarred Souls Heal Each Other

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Naruto. They belong to their respective authors and publishing/media companies.

Warning: Yaoi/Slash. Harry/Ibiki. Please don't read if its not your cup of tea.

Beta: Latte2

Author's Notes: I was reminded in a review that I had previously quoted this story as being 10 chapters long. That is no longer true. TSSHEO has taken on a life of its own.

In addition - Sakura will be not be drummed out of the shinobi corps just yet. She'll get another chance to choose either becoming a kunoichi of worth or staying a worthless fangirl.

* * *

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Chapter 8: Let the Plotting Begin

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**Sunday. Konoha, Elemental Countries**

The next morning, Naruto was nestled happily into soft pillows and a downy comforter. Gradually, his sleepy mind took notice of his unusually luxurious sleeping accommodations and he sharply woke up to assess his safety in an unknown environment. Frantic blue eyes swung rapidly around the room, looking for hidden dangers, barely taking note of the elegant cherry furniture and walls decorated with serene forest paintings. His fearful search for an unknown assailant came to a grinding halt when he heard a puzzled "Hoot?" coming from the left wall. Turning his head sharply, he was immediately relieved to see Hedwig perched on the still of the opened bay window.

"Hedwig!" he exclaimed with relief and rushed over to the owl, who now had her head tilted in curiosity. Her eyes looked upon the blonde genin with a hint of bemusement in its amber depths.

As Naruto scratched Hedwig's head, the series of events from last night played through his head. 'Huh. Well that explains the unknown bedroom.' he mused softly to himself. As he continued his soft petting of the white owl, he took a moment to re-examine his new bedroom. During his second and more leisure perusal, he was pleasantly surprised by the elegant but comforting décor. The room contained a large bed with rich green bedding, a long dresser on one wall, a large desk with matching shelves above it, an expansive bay window, two additional windows flanking the bed, and three doors painted a light color. The blonde gave Hedwig a finally pat and walked around the room to explore where the doors led to.

Opening the first door that was opposite of the bed, he found it led to a hallway. A warm feeling of happiness erupted in his chest when he noticed the door contained a small sign that proudly declared it "Naruto's room". Looking down the hallway, he noticed the two doors respectively labeled "Harry's" and "Hermione's" were still closed so he closed his door and kept exploring his bedroom. Not a guest bedroom. His!

The second and third doors were located on the same wall, separated by the long dresser and opposite of the bay window. Walking to the door on the far right, he discovered it was a large walk in closet. Opening the last door, Naruto was surprised by the sophisticated bathroom that was attached to his bedroom. It was a five piece bathroom complete with dual sinks, a toilet, a large shower, and a huge soaking tub complete with jets. The genin couldn't wait to try the jet tub. Despite his fast healing, Naruto knew a hot soak would feel wonderful after a long training session. He never soaked in a bathtub before due to his previous apartment only ran cold water and he wasn't foolish enough to try and enter a public bath house.

Grabbing a set of clothes from the dresser, he rushed back to the bathroom to take a scorching hot shower. Thirty minutes later, clothed in his customary orange jumpsuit, Naruto felt refreshingly clean. Hedwig had left sometime during his shower so he exited his room after a lovingly pat on his door sign.

Walking down the staircase, he followed his nose to the scent of food that drifted through the air. Navigating through the first floor, Naruto walked into the kitchen only to be confronted by a strange sight in front of the stove.

His blue eyes bulged as his mouth dropped in shock. Pointing furiously, he sputtered and finally screamed in hysteria "Little Green Man. Little Green Man. It's an alien. Kami-sama, they do exist. Kiba was right all along!"

Hermione and Harry looked at the genin in amusement, but continued to sip their tea and coffee, content to let him scream in hysteria before explaining the situation to him. Meanwhile, Dobby turned around from the stove and looked at Naruto with his floppy ears twitching up and down. However, both siblings choked on their drinks when the blonde all but howled –

"Nooooooooo! I don't want to be anal probed!"

~Thirty Minutes Later~

Naruto sat down at the table, eating his delicious traditional Japanese breakfast with an occasionally twitch as he watched Dobby nervously. The little elf was certainly fascinated by the young blonde boy as it was the first time anyone was frighten of him. However, Dobby was still worried about the fearsome 'anal probe' that the boy had mentioned which caused the Great Harry Potter and his Grangy to choke and shake when it was mentioned.

'It be a dark spell. A bad bad dark spell.' Dobby thought to himself with a determined ear wiggle. He remembered how both siblings adamantly refused to talk or explain what it was to the confused house elf. Thus, Dobby resolved to never, ever mention the dreadful anal probe least he scared his friends again like earlier. The wheezing and choking sounds that they had made in shock clearly demonstrated their fear and terror of that terrible spell.

Naruto ate his food mechanically as his head swarmed with the information that was just revealed to him after he had sworn an oath to never reveal their secrets without permission. Both Potter-Blacks were sages who used spiritual energy to affect their environments and their selves. Unlike chakra, it was a bloodline trait that was born to only 1 out of 6,000 people in their homeland. In their hidden society, Harry was the clan head from a wealthy and prominent house. Due to wars and persecution, he was the last surviving member of his clan. His status left his vulnerable to people who wished to prey on his wealth and political status so Harry and his adopted sister fled their homeland to rebuild a new life where they wouldn't be controlled by greedy and manipulative people.

While their special ability was surprising, it was their knowledge and acceptance of his jinchuuriki status that confused the genin the most. He was constantly treated like trash by the people of Konoha so it was surreal to have two foreigners recognize Naruto as just being Naruto and open their home to him. The blonde teen was awed by the amount of trust the Potter-Blacks gave him and promised to never betray their faith in him.

"So, Naruto, do you have any questions for us?" gently asked Harry.

The orange clad teen shook his head silently, only to pause when a sudden idea entered his brain.

"Ano, do you mind showing me what your spiritual energy is capable of? I know what chakra can do, but not spiritual energy. That is, if you don't mind. You don't have too. I was just.." rambled the dazed genin.

"Naruto, its fine." interrupted Harry with a small chuckle. "Both Hermione and I asked the same thing when were offered a place at a prestigious magic school in our homeland."

"Magic? School?" echoed Naruto.

"Even though it's referred to as energy or chakra here, we were raised to call it magic." was the sensible explanation from Hermione. "All children are taught how to use their magic at a school. The professors visit our homes, demonstrate magic, and ask for our acceptance or refusal to attend their school."

"Ohh, a school of magic. That must have been so awesome." remarked the awed blonde.

"It was. Now, a demonstration of what magic can do, right? Okay, how about flouting." asked the green eyed wizard with a bright smile.

"Floating? Wooahh! This is so cool" screamed a laughing teenager.

While Naruto was looking at Harry, a sneaky witch had taken out her wand and casted a feather light and flying spell on the genin.

As Naruto happily dog paddled through the air, Hedwig flew up from her perch on the back of Harry's chair and engaged the teen in a game of flying/floating tag,

Harry and Hermione watched the aerodynamic duo for a few moments. The witch looked down at her feet when she felt Crookshanks pawing at her left leg.

"Oh, hello there, Crookshanks. Do you want to join them too?" she asked.

The half kneazle mewled in response, so within moments he was navigating his way through the air with his tail swishing lazily behind him.

"I do believe you just doomed several birds to extinction." drolled Harry, as he observed how Crookshanks was stealthily drifting towards an open window.

"I highly doubt it. Crookshanks has never displayed an interest in birds before. Fish and mice, yes. Birds, no." was his sister's dismissive rebuttal.

As soon as the words left her mouth, Crookshanks darted out the window and into a nearby tree. The ensuing noise of panicked bird shrieks gave little credence to her statement.

"You were saying, dear sister?"

"Shut up, Harry!"

* * *

Ibiki stared apathetically towards the sweating and panicky potbellied landlord of Naruto's former residence. The sweaty man's eyes were darting back and forth in the interrogation room, desperately searching for a way out. As if he could possibly find one. They were currently in a room that was deep within the bowels of the Torture and Interrogation Headquarters. The jounin could positively feel Anko bouncing on her feet, happily anticipating a chance to 'play' with the man if he chose to be non-cooperative to their investigation.

"Hotaru Nukpana, do you know why you are here?" ask Ibiki in a cold but silky tone.

"No. I've done nothing wrong. Why have you brought me here? I am a fine upstanding citizen of Konoha." demanded Nukpana with a false sense of bravado.

"Ah, yes. Tell me is it customary to charge a Konoha orphan a rent of 6,000 yens which is 50% more than your other residents. Added to the fact, it's the smallest apartment, hasn't had repairs in 10 years, and doesn't have running hot water. Furthermore, you seem to be increasing the outrageous rent whenever you please which is clearly against the lease agreement with the tenant and the bylaws of Konoha. So do you have any explanation for your actions, Mr. Upstanding Citizen?" Ibiki lazily scanned over a piece of paper before staring at Nukpana with a deadly glare that promised untold pain if he tried to lie to the jounin.

"What? This is about that blonde brat? Preposterous." spat the civilian in irate rage at having his day disturbed over such trivial matters. "That brat should be glad that I even gave him a place to live instead of kicking him out to live on the streets like the filthy demon that he is!"

Ibiki leaned back and smiled predatorily at the red-faced man.

"Unfortunately, Nukpana-san, it appears as if you have just broken the Law of the Third Hokage. Sadly, your stay in our lovely department has now been extended. You will experience some unpleasant sensations, but hopefully you will live through them with your sanity intact. Perhaps, you will be more civil in a later session, hmmm?" stated Ibiki with a blood-chilling smile as Anko happily stormed into the room to take her latest project to her playroom.

She had been hoping that the little piggy would land in her delicate care. Even before the Chunnin Exam, Anko had kept a close eye on the jinchuuriki as his situation reminded her far too much of her own past before the civilians perceived her as being too insane and dangerous to trifle with. It was never easy to carry a burden that was never asked for nor earned through your own actions. The special jounin respected the genin for never letting public opinion break him. If torturing the piggy meant help finding justice for Blondie, she'll diligently endeavor to have a very hardworking day!

Ibiki watched impassively as Anko dragged the crying man out of the room. Normally, he would be in charge of such a high profile investigation. But due to his ties with Naruto, he diplomatically decided to take a backseat. That way no one could accuse him of favoritism or being bias at a later - and there would definitely be a later. Ibiki knew the Civilian Council will be up in arms over this case.

~Four Hours Later~

'Today is going to be long, long day.' Ibiki thought to himself as he sat at his desk and read over the report he was going to present to the Hokage.

Mere hours earlier, Ibiki had watched as Anko ruthlessly gathered information from Nukpana. Ibiki's suspicion that Nukpana's actions were directed by someone else was confirmed. However, he was shocked to find his actions were directed by a shinobi, a council elder to be exact.

What they had pierced together from Nukpana's tearful blubbering was the undeniable fact that his actions were only part of a twisted and convoluted plot to establish control over the Kyuubi jinchuuriki. Ten years ago, Nukpana was approached by a council elder who warned the landlord that his tenant was truly a demon in human form. The elder went on to tell the man that he didn't have to treat the vessel like a human because that would only serve to make the demon comfortable in Konoha. By deliberately arranging for the demon's home to be uninhabitable by human standards, Nukpana would be driving the hated demon to take shelter on the streets where it would be vulnerable or out of Konoha completely. Regardless of the outcome, Nukpana would be a hero for getting rid of the village's least desired denizen.

As Anko continued to question Nukpana, more dirty secrets were revealed. The man hadn't allowed the apartment to become so derelict until the Third Hokage had passed as he knew Sarutobi-sama often visited Naruto at his apartment when he was younger. Furthermore, it was never a coincidence that Naruto was always found on nights when violent mobs would form. In exchange for free drinks at bars, he would always lock out the blonde the following night he received tips that people wanted to go 'fox hunting'.

By this point, it was apparent that Naruto's abuse was systematically organized in the village. The only question that remained was why?

Using the names that Nukpana supplied, several trusted shinobi were dispatched to round up the named bartenders and assailants. What followed next was a slow unraveling of a political nightmare of manipulation at its finest (or lowest) degree .

All the men were very alike in their backgrounds and circumstances. While none of them had relatives in the shinobi corps, each man had lost loved ones due to the Kyuubi attack. Predictably, they fostered resentment towards its jinchuuriki. All of the men were approached by 'ANBU' shinobi who revealed that most of the shinobi corps knew the boy was an actually demon, hence why it greatly resembled the Yondaime as a method to further torment the villagers. The supposed ANBU revealed how the shinobi couldn't actively harm the demon due to it being under the protection of the Hokage, therefore the duty to purge the village rested upon the civilians' shoulders.

Ibiki pinched his nose in frustration at the depth of corruption that ran rampant in his beloved village. It was disgusting to know the 'ANBU' were correct in their assertion that most of the shinobi wouldn't actually hurt Naruto but neither would they actively help the blonde either. It was only logical to acknowledge that some shinobi had been slow to protect or help the boy from mobs due to their (conscious or not) resentment towards the great chakra beast.

Signing heavily, he gathered his papers and left to meet the Hokage to present his vital findings.

~In the Hokage's Office~

Tsunade sat at her desk, reading the report impassively. Ibiki was in her office along with Inoichi and Shikaku who were looking over their own copies of the report as well. Their presence had been requested by Ibiki and approved by the Hokage.

"It appears this problem is much bigger than I had originally anticipated. I thought only civilians abused the boy. But it seems many shinobi did too, whether orchestrating the abuse or turning a blind eye to it. While I have my suspicions as to why a council elder acted in such a manner, I wish to hear your opinions as well." She regarded the three men with a cool and collected glance.

"Power, pure and simple. It was for power. He already had significant influence among ninjas because of his elder's position. By preying on the civilian's feelings of resentment and fear, he established himself as being on their 'side', a wise leader that they could trust. It's a slow operation to convert loyalty from Sarutobi-sama to himself. After all, the Hokage's stance on Naruto lowered his political esteem in many villagers' eyes." Shikaku's mind was working overtime to unravel the motivation and actions of the possible traitorous village elder.

"I have to agree with Shikaku. However, it may be a matter of personal resentment as well. Didn't he lose family due to the Kyuubi attack?" questioned Inoichi. His years as the former Head of the T&I Division had heightened his ability to spot psychological explanations for criminal actions.

"If my memory serves correct, he did lose many of his family members in the attack. However, I don't know if he has any remaining family in the village." replied Ibiki.

"Find out who he lost in the attack, Ibiki, as it could be vital information. I want you to continue your investigation because it seems as if his actions are leading to a political coup – that sneaky bastard! I also need to know if any of the civilian councilmembers have abused their authority as well. If I am going to re-haul the council, I need to present irrefutable evidence to the Daimyo in order to gain his permission to do so." ordered Tsunade.

"Shikaku, Inoichi, I need you both to serve as extra eyes and ears in Council Meetings. There is no telling what his next moves will be so I need all the help I can get to navigate around him. You have my permission to debrief Chouza and ask for his assistance with this too. Also, if you can have trusted clan members discreetly gather information from civilians, that would be greatly appreciated."

All three men nodded their heads in agreement. Shikaku and Inoichi resigned themselves to asking their wives for their help in this endeavor – in other words, gossip.

Shudders ran up and down their spines as they imagined their wives unholy glee at being unleashed upon the village.

Predictably, Shikaku summarized his feelings in the trademark Nara motto:

"Tch. Troublesome."

* * *

~Afternoon, around 1:00 pm

Hermione hummed softly to herself as she browsed the bookshelves of A Sealed Kunai Bookstore. This was the very same bookstore that Iruka had escorted her to during their coffee date on Saturday. The witched tucked a stray curl behind her left ear as a light blush tinted her cheeks over thoughts about the kind and intelligent chunnin. She couldn't wait for their next meeting on Wednesday!

She found and picked up the book, Konoha's Constitution and By-Laws, that Iruka had strongly recommended in light of the actions of the Civilian Council. Despite already having the information that was gathered by the goblins, Hermione wanted to have a firm grasp on the laws of Konoha. She knew the political machinations have only just begun.

Turning the corner around a bookshelf rack, the witch headed towards the cashier only to freeze when she caught sight of the pinked hair genin. For a few seconds, Hermione debated with herself over greeting or ignoring the un-affable girl. Based upon Naruto's description of the girl and her own observations, Hermione was bemused to realize Sakura was like an unholy combination of herself, Ginny, and Cho Chang – a book smart, obsessive bully with an unhealthy amount of respect towards figures of authority. 'How utterly charming.' she thought sarcastically.

With a determined sigh, Hermione walked forward to politely greet the girl who was standing in the medical section of the bookstore. 'Oh, it appears that the Hokage's and Harry's plan to have her become a medic-nin was successful. Hopefully, she can grow into her own skills instead of running after that poor boy to be his wife.' mused the curly brunet.

"Good afternoon, Haruno-san. Are you having a pleasant day?" she greet the genin with a polite and cordial tone.

Sakura was visibly startled. She jumped slightly before turning to face the approaching witch.

"Good afternoon, Black-san. I am doing well and yourself?" the pinkette replied with a slight bow.

"I am doing fine. I see you are now interested in medical studies. Did you decide to become a medic-nin?" Hermione was interested in knowing how Sakura would explain her new career path.

"Oh, yes. Hokage-sama recommended me to become a medic-nin, so how could I decline her endorsement? Besides, Mother said Lady Tsunade hinted that she would take me on as an apprentice. I can't wait until I start my first medical lessons on Monday. I am sure I will learn so much from Tsunade-sama." boosted the girl, with a confident flip of her pink hair.

'Oh-kay, she's clearly still delusional.' thought Hermione. 'It's best just to humor her.'

"What as fabulous opportunity for you! You are sure to have a bright future." praised Hermione with a fixed smile on her face.

"Absolutely, especially when Sasuke-kun proposes to me!" announced Sakura.

'_Propose_? She thinks he's going to propose to her?' Hermione's smile slowly faded off her face as she looked at the girl in disbelief.

"Propose? Uchiha-san is going to propose to you?"

"Oh course! How could he not purpose to me - the most beautiful and talented girl in the village. With my close connections to the Hokage, I'll even be able to raise the political prestige of the Uchiha clan too!"

"Ohh, so you're going to be one of his wives! Congratulation, Haruno-san!" Hermione just couldn't resist poking a stick at a hornet's nest.

"One of his wives? What do you mean one of his wives?" screeched the indignant pinkette.

"Didn't you know? According to the by-laws of Konoha and the Clan Restoration Act, whenever a clan becomes too small, selected males are eligible to have multiple wives in order to rebuild the clan. Naturally as the last Uchiha, Uchiha-san should take multiple wives so the Uchiha Clan can be brought back from the brink of extinction. Especially since he is now a genin and his life is in danger daily." explained Hermione; inwardly dancing in mirth over the girl's flabbergasted expression.

"His only wife will be me!" The loud shout drew the notice of the store's other shoppers.

"The only one to decide that is Uchiha-san. I honestly don't think he is the kind of person who would let personal feelings and attachments get in the way of his duties to his clan." stated Hermione matter-of-factly.

"But….he would …never…and..My mom will make it so I am his only bride!" screamed the genin before she rushed out of the store.

Hermione watched the girl's mad dash through the street for a few moments before calmly strolling to the checkout desk. 'That should keep the Civilian Council away from my small family for a while' she thought in satisfaction.

The witch knew most civilians didn't remember or know that bloodline clans could have polygamy marriages in order to rebuild the low population of their clan. Within moments the main point of her not-so-quiet discussion with Sakura would be spread all throughout Konoha, courtesy of the numerous eye witnesses in the bookstore. Soon, the Harunos' weak alliances will crumble as the other civilian clans scramble to secure their own political favor with the last Uchiha. Sakura's infamous possessiveness of Sasuke will work against her, as other families ban together against the Harunos so their own family members could become a part of the Uchiha clan instead.

As Hermione left the store with her purchase, her keen observation skills noticed the clumps of people gossiping along the streets and in stores. She knew within a few hours, many civilians will be plotting how to get their daughters, nieces, cousins, and etc. to be one of the future brides of the Last Uchiha.

'Hopefully, Sakura will soon realize her childish dreams can never come true unless she matures and works for them.' Hermione seriously hoped the news of Clan Restoration Act shook the girl out of some of her delusions.

Hermione continued to hum to herself as she walked towards home to give Harry an update of her latest plot – which was completed devilish and underhanded. It was good to remind herself why she was once called the smartest witch of her generation.

* * *

~Hogwart's Castle, the private laboratory of the Potions Professor

Dumbledore scowled furiously as another cauldron exploded in the potions lab. It took a quick flick of his original wand for the mess to be banished. Once again, another blood ritual had failed to find his missing pawn.

The old wizard pulled a vial of blood from a hidden pocket in his glaring yellow robes and swirled its contents gently. He curiously examined the black-red liquid, looking for any signs of flaws or imperfections.

"Hmm," he mumbled to himself, "perhaps the ritual failed because the blood is too old. After all, 18 years is an extraordinary amount of time for ever fresh charms to work."

Indeed, the blood in the vial belonged to the 18 month old Harry Potter that he had wisely gathered before depositing the boy on his aunt's doorstep one cold, November evening.

The disgraced professor eyed his phoenix's empty perch on a nearby surface with a glare of hatred. He was enraged that the wretched bird had managed to break free of his familiar spell and fled the castle. Finding Harry would have been so much easier if Fawkes was still here.

Dumbledore continued to gaze around the room in disgust. He couldn't believe how far he had fallen. After the war criminal trials, the public had quickly turned on him with the disappearance of Harry Potter and Hermione Granger. The ex-Headmaster's name was dragged through the proverbial mud as many witches and wizards blamed him for the abuse and mistreatment of their hero. He was quickly voted out as the head of the Wizengamot and the International Confederation of Wizards. The wily politician had avoided a trial and prison by using long collect favors and a silver tongue to talk his way out of charges.

In a quick meeting the Board quickly decided to dismiss the man as Headmaster. The only reason why he was allowed to remain at Hogwarts as the newly hired potions professor was because there was no other qualified potions instructor to take Severus Snape's place when the man resigned in the summer. Not surprisingly, Dumbledore was not fond of his demotion at Hogwarts.

In order to regain his previous popularity and political clout, Dumbledore needed to find the Boy Who Lived by fair means or foul. Once he had the blasted boy, he planned to use a plethora of dark rituals and spells to ensure Harry's obedience for the remainder of the boy's natural life. In fact, Dumbledore planned to siphon some of Harry's youth and magic too The complicated ritual and array would only work with wizards of equal power. Obviously, Harry was the closest wizard to his magical strength. He would have used Gellert but years in magical shackles had diminished the former dark lord's magic significantly. Plus, Dumbledore wanted to gain youth not more wrinkles!

Grumbling under his breathe, he went back to his book shelf full of glamoured books. To everyone else, they were transfiguration or history texts, but the old professor saw priceless dark and banned books. Picking up anothet book, he gently opened the old tome and began pursuing for another spell or ritual to try.

Albus Dumbledore was a wizard on a mission. He was determined to regain control of Wizarding Britain, the freedom of one boy be damned!

* * *

Posted: 3/18/2013 Word Count: Over 5,050

Thank you for reading my story. Please take a moment and review. Thanks a million!

Author's Notes: Please read if interested.

Wizard to Muggle Ratio – found at Wikibooks – A Muggle's Guide to Harry Potter

Explanation to Naruto – they put in layman's terms so Naruto could understand it – clan head, bloodline, etc. Why did they reveal magic to him so early – to avoid lying, deceiving, or betraying him like everybody else. Harry values honesty and loyalty more than most people so he holds himself to the same standards. Ibiki's not brought in the loop at this time due to their relationship being new. Remember its only been one date so far.

Flying spell – it actually exists according to Harry Potter wiki.

Landlord's name: Couldn't find it online so settled for a made up one. So according to online research Hotaru – Japanese for darkness, Nukpana – Native American for evil.


	10. Chapter 9: Paperwork Demons & Genin Woes

Two Scarred Souls Heal Each Other

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Naruto. They belong to their respective authors and publishing/media companies.

Warning: Yaoi/Slash. Harry/Ibiki. Please don't read if its not your cup of tea.

Beta: Latte2

Author's Notes: Sincere apologies for the delayed update. The students had finished nine weeks testing, only to spring directly into the MS SATP retesting of seniors which took seven days. That little bit of happiness was followed by the fanaticism of the juniors and seniors to finish their term papers and presentations. Seriously, they had three months to work on them. Never the less, everything else got pushed aside.

On the fun side of things, I am pleased to announce that I am now an official member of the Romance Writers of America. Latte2 is official too!

Thank you for all your continuous support and reviews! I really do read every one of them. Even if I don't reply to your reviews, they are sincerely appreciated.

Timeline of this chapter in the storyline - it's been about a month since Harry ad Hermione moved to Konoha.

* * *

.

Chapter 9: Of Paperwork Demons and Genin Woes

**One Week Later, Konoha**

At the Potter-Black Manor

Late Sunday evening, Harry was unhappily nestled in his desk chair in his private home office. The emerald eyed wizard had procrastinated working on his paperwork until the last possible moment. He stretched lazily in his chair before reaching to his left to grab his cup of coffee. While he preferred tea, the wizard needed the extra caffeine of the coffee to ensure all his paperwork got completed. Harry balefully glared at his desk and snorted in disgust at all the stacks of paper that cluttered its surface.

Picking up a pen, he cautiously poked a stack that was close by.

"Merlin's balls, I think the be-damned things breeds. How else does it grow at such a rapid rate?" he complained to himself.

Suddenly, his mail box began to glow softly on his right desk corner. Harry gleefully tossed aside his pen of pokiness in favor of this new distraction.

After opening the box, he discovered a letter bearing the formal seal of Gringotts. 'Hmm,' he pondered to himself, 'this should be interesting.'

He carefully broke the seal and eagerly began reading Griphook's latest letter:

_Greetings Mr. Potter-Black,_

_Gringotts would like to inform you of two attempts to infringe upon your freedom by Wizarding Great Britain. _

_Recently, we obtained information and proof that Mr. Albus Dumbledore has made several attempts to locate you using several obscure rituals, including illegal blood rituals. Please note that these rituals did not work due to Mr. Dumbledore having no prior knowledge of your blood adoption or true name. If you wish to press charges on Mr. Dumbledore, please send a missive to the Legal Department of Gringotts. _

_In addition, your extended absence from the United Kingdom has been noted by the Daily Prophet, which swiftly called for the return of the Beloved Savior. Bowing to public pressure to ensure your safe return, the Wizengamot voted to freeze your vaults until you appeared before the distinguished body and swore oaths to take up your responsibilities to the Wizarding World. Regrettably, Gringotts had to inform the august assembly that all vaults for Harry James Potter have been emptied and closed for an undisclosed amount of time._

_The Goblin Nation applauds your triumphs over the Wizarding World and looks forward to your future victories._

_May your vaults ever flow with gold,_

_Griphook_

One of Harry's eyebrows rose in humor at Griphook's caustic sarcasm throughout the letter, before a pleased smirk crossed over the green-eyed wizard's face. Low chuckles of satisfaction erupted from the wizard as he pictured to shocked reactions of Dumb-as-a-door and the Whiz-on-it. 'Ah, to be a Rita Skeeter beetle on a wall when they were informed of their failures. How utterly priceless!'

Whistling a cheerful tune, he happily bounced out of his office to locate his curly haired sister and inform her of her loses in their bets. Despite everything, Hermione still grossly miscalculated the lengths of stupidity the Wizarding World was capable of.

Which was extremely good news for Harry. Poor Hermione didn't have a clue about the massive amount of paperwork that had piled up on his desk. Oh well, the next two weeks will serve as a steep learning curve!

'Ah freedom. Sweet, sweet freedom from the evil paperwork demon. Hermione's your victim now!' Harry thought as he laughed in happiness over shoving his paperwork onto someone else.

Upstairs in her personal study, Hermione was working on new tea combinations. A soft knocked sounded on her door and soon opened with her permission to enter. Harry poked his head through her doorway, an evil smirk across his face.

"Oh sweet dear sister, do you remember the terms of our bet?" he asked with an evil laugh.

~Ten Minutes Later ~

"Damn you, Hadrian James! How dare you not work on any of your Merlin be damned paperwork! Why, why did I make a bet with him? Damn his Potter Luck!" howled from Harry's home office when Hermione fully comprehended the depths of procrastination that her little brother was capable of.

Muttering angrily under her breath, she gazed upon the unshrinking piles of paperwork that decorated the expansive wooden desk. Pulling the closest stack to her, she began to to complete the work that Harry had delightfully fostered off on her. The next two weeks were going to be hell.

'He'll pay for this. Oh yes, he will.' She thought viciously to herself as her mind whirled to decide the appropriate punishment.

oOo

On his way to find Ibiki for another date, a sudden chill raced up and down Harry's spine. The brunette paused in his steps as he tried to determine the cause of his recent apprehension. His intuition was screaming remarkably similar to when the Weasley twins or Sirius pulled a prank.

'Oh, well. Whatever it is, it can't be that bad.' he finally concluded. Shrugging his shoulders, the wizard continued his merry journey with a jaunty bounce in his steps.

* * *

For the past five hours, Ibiki, Shikaku, and Anko had read dozens of reports that were thrown all over one of the conference tables in the Department of Torture and Interrogation. Over the past seven days, multiple shinobi have been dispatched to interrogate and arrest dozens of citizens that were suspected of treason. Slowly, they uncovered and pieced together evidence of an underground rebellion to overthrow the power of the Hokage and convert Konoha to an oligarchy of a small 'elite' council. As of now, one Councilor Elder and two civilian council members have been identified as the ringleaders of the entire coup.

Shikaku heaved a heavy sigh as he tossed aside a report regarding the interrogation of a shop clerk, who for years had deliberately sold poor quality groceries and goods to people he viewed as 'undesirables' – Naruto, Lee, and other orphaned kids involved in the shinobi corps. The man claimed he only wanted to strengthen the shinobi corps by helping to apply pressure on the non-clan orphans to drop out of the academy or genin program. The clerk fanatically believed if the 'undesirables' left, the remaining students and genin would get the full attention they deserved to become stronger ninjas for Konoha.

Pinching his nose in frustration, Shikaku was honestly appalled by the rabid and narrow mindset of the majority of civilians who blindly praised bloodlines. It made a complete mockery of the skillset and sacrifices of the dozens of ninjas that didn't descend from clans such as Jiraiya, Minato Namikaze, or Gai. Furthermore, that unhealthy mindset was undoubtedly responsible for the low civilian enrollment rates in the Shinobi Academy. In recent years, civilian enrollment consisted of the occasional orphaned boy or civilian fangirls who were only stalking the objects of their affections – i.e. Itachi, Neji, or Sasuke. The same realization wasn't missed by the other two shinobi in the room too.

"Damn it, this is the reason why there are so many weak fangirls trying to become kunoichi! I'll kill them all!" roared Anko, whose temper had finally exploded.

For the past few years, Anko had become more and more disgusted with the weak performances of the so called kunoichi in the corps. Case in point was the Chunin Exam fight between the pinkette and Inoichi's daughter. Thank Kami-sama that it wasn't a public exhibition match in the finals! But the fact that other shinobi from various villages had witnessed the pathetic catfight was embarrassing as hell and it had reflected badly on Konoha, especially on fellow kunoichi..

'Honestly, what the hell are they teaching at the Academy anyways?' she growled to herself. Perking up with a sudden thought, she turned eagerly to look at Ibiki.

"Hey, Ibiki? Do you think Tsunade-sama will give me permission to help teach the kunoichi classes at the Academy? I'll knock the fan-girlism out of them within a few days!" she exclaimed with sadistic delight, rubbing her hands in anticipation. The sibilant hissing of her ever-present viper only added to her maniac image.

Ibiki and Shikaku stared at Anko in horror and disbelief. Both men were very familiar with Anko's 'unique' personality and had no desire to inflect her upon innocent children. Regardless of how much they disliked fangirls too.

"No, just no." Ibiki stated firmly.

"Ahh, Biki!" whined Anko, pouting as her Operation: Destroy All Fangirls came to a grinding halt.

"But nothing. There is no way the Hokage or Council will allow a woman who purposely cultivated an infamous reputation and bullied her way into the Bingo Book as the 'Insane, Sadistic Snake Bitch of Konoha' to be a sensei to a Genin Team, much less in the Academy."

"And Nai-Chan said it couldn't be done. The look on her face when she saw my Bingo entry!" Anko cackled as she remembered her best friend's incredulous face. The fact that Kurenai had to buy her dango for a month only made her victory even sweeter!

Shikaku shook his head in fond exasperation. "Regrettably, it is now nearing 6 o'clock and I need to head home for dinner in order to avoid a lecture by Yoshino. I will see you tomorrow at 10:00 am to resume our organization of our report for the Hokage and Daimyo on Friday."

He swiftly piled the folders he was reading into a neat stack and nodded his head towards the two interrogators before exiting the room.

Ibiki decided to call it a day as well. While the investigation was important, they couldn't afford to rush through it or they'll overlook crucial intel. Gesturing at Anko to do the same, he began to stack the reports that would be placed in a secure location in his office.

Together the two shinobi walked down the hall to Ibiki's and Anko's office area. Along the way, Ibiki had to listen to Anko mad ramblings about her plans to help unfangirl genin kunoichi. Arriving outside their offices' main doorway, he came to an abrupt halt that almost caused Anko to crash into him.

Sitting on a bench in the hallway was his fidgeting koneko. Immediately the tension from the past five hours slowly began to unwind as he looked upon the blushing and visibly shy brunette.

"Sorry. I came by to ask if you were free for dinner. When I asked the man in the lobby to pass a message to you, I was suddenly ushered to wait here for you. I apologize for interrupting your work." Harry explained in a rush as he blushed further when he noticed an unknown purple haired woman leering at him directly behind Ibiki.

In truth, the wizard was torn between shock and amusement about his current dilemma. As he was walking through the village, Harry had spotted Shikaku and had stopped for a brief conversation with the intelligent, older man. Upon learning that he was searching for Ibiki, the Nara had quickly escorted him to the T & I Headquarters with a suspiciously sly expression on his face. When Harry had asked the shinobi in the main lobby if he could leave a message for Ibiki, he was completely flabbergasted to be escorted directly to his boyfriend's office. The fact that most of the shinobi presented had stopped and stared at him only heightened his awkwardness over this unexpected situation.

'Merlin, I thought they would have more tightened security measures around here. Although, there have been a lot of ninja that have walked past me. I guess that's to ensure I don't do anything suspicious?' wondered Harry.

However, he was jerked quickly out of his thoughts by a piercing wolf-whistle that came from the previously noted purple haired woman.

"Damn Biki! I always thought you were asexual but he sure is sexy sexy! You definitely picked up a cutie." She nudged Ibiki who was now openly glaring daggers at her.

Turning her attention back to Ibiki's main squeeze, she boldly asked "Neh, neh, how's the sex? It should be mind-blowing, based upon his expertise with the human body. After all if you can cause pain, you can cause pleasure, right?" she said with a suggestive eyebrow wiggle.

"Anko!" barked Ibiki "Shut up!"

Harry stared unblinkingly at her for a few seconds before erupting into laughter. Years of the Weasley twins and Sirius meant he was accustomed to blunt and lewd language. Especially during his first year on the Quidditch team when Fred and George took perverse delight in shocking him.

Ibiki momentarily basked in the sound of his koibito's amusement before he introduced his laughing love to his pouting coworker.

"Harry this is Anko, a fellow shinobi in the T & I Department. Anko, this is Harry. Behave or you'll be on paperwork duty for a month." he growled menacingly at a sullen Anko, who was disappointed that she had failed to garner a shocked reaction from her boss's younger lover.

Hating even the thought of being held captive by the unconquerable beast, she reluctantly nodded her head and agreed to be 'nice' to the smiling green eyed man. Well, her version of nice anyway.

Unlocking the door and channeling chakra to deactivate the security seals, he walked towards his office and bided Harry to take a seat at a chair in front of his expansive desk. The jounin quickly unsealed a filing cabinet to secure the reports in and neatly placed his folders into the awaiting drawer. Next, he grabbed the stack that Anko had briskly held out to him.

After locking and resealing the cabinet, he turned around to direct his attention to his Emerald only to pause when he noticed Anko's viper was curling around Harry like a beautiful but deadly scarf. From the corner of his eye, he noted that Anko was watching her snake's unusual behavior as well.

"Harry, hold still and Anko will fetch her wayward summon off of you." The scarred jounin stated calmly while glaring dark retributions to his second in command to fetch her pet immediately.

"Mistress, this man smells interesting. Like a storm." hissed the viper in obvious pleasure as it wrapped itself closer around the unfazed wizard.

"_My, aren't you an interesting snake. I didn't know summons could speak human tongue."_ conversed Harry politely as he gently stroked the black snake.

He soon froze in horror as Harry abruptly realized he just spoke parseltongue in front of his boyfriend and his subordinate.

'Shit! Merlin's soggy balls!' the panicked wizard cursed himself as he thought furiously on how to get out of his latest blunder. 'Maybe I can oblivate them? No, that won't work on the snake. Think brain, think!'

"Ohhh, your bloodline lets you talk to animals. What an interesting ability. Hey, can you talk to all snakes because there's a few summons that I really need to have some strong words with. Those little bastards like to pretend they don't understand me when I know they damn well do! Anyways, with your help, the little punks can't claim ignorance!" crowed Anko.

Really some of the snakes got on her damn nerves. 'Maybe Harry can even help me wrestle the Summoning Contract from the Bastard. That would completely piss the pedophile off!' she mused. She glazed starry eyed at Harry, determined to buy him dango in exchange for his help.

Leaning sideways in his chair away from the strange kunoichi, Harry was taken aback by her glittery eyed stare and nonchalant acceptance of his parseltongue ability.

"Uhmm, not all animals. Just serpents and snakes." he clarified slowly, refusing to even look at Ibiki for fear of his reaction.

"Anko, get your pet and go away. You still have work to do." ordered Ibiki. His harsh tone conveyed no patience for arguments.

Anko quickly seized her complaining summon, who wanted to stay with the interesting smelling human. She left Ibiki's office and closed his door to ensure their privacy. As she walked towards her desk, she pondered the ramification of Harry's ability.

In the office, Ibiki gave a deadpanned look at Harry, who fidgeted and still refused to look at him. Mentally sighing, he walked towards his Emerald. Before the wizard could react, he was seized upwards, propelled forward, and then dropped down into Ibiki's lap as the jounin made himself comfortable in his behemoth desk chair.

Carding his right hand though his koibito's hair, Ibiki waited patiently for his love to relax and stop shaking. "Is there any reason why you are acting so scared? Given the various bloodlines that exist in the Elemental Countries, the ability to talk to snakes is different but certainly not unusual."

Leaning into the soft caresses, Harry felt the overwhelming fear gradually ease from his body. He twisted his fingers in a nervous gesture as he tried to gather his thoughts to aptly convey the cause of his apprehension to his partner.

"It's not viewed as dark or evil? I won't be imprisoned or executed?" asked Harry in a low and unsteady voice.

"What? Of course not! Not unless you go around assassinating people by commanding venomous snakes to bite them." Ibiki assured his trembling love. He suddenly got a suspicion as to why Harry was reacting so negatively about other people knowing about his unusual talent.

"Harry," he asked seriously, "is your gift the reason why you left your homeland? Because it put you in danger?"

"Part of the reason, yes. Besides me, the only other person known to have the same ability is a mass murderer who started a civil war that lead to the deaths of hundreds of people. Not surprisingly, parseltongue is an ability that is hated and abhorred by many people." confirmed Harry in a pained tone.

"Oh, koibito." comforted Ibiki as he placed a gentle kiss at Harry's temple. "I am sorry for the hardships you faced in your past. But you don't have to be bound by them here. If it eases your mind, there are many bloodline limits that are much more dangerous than talking to snakes."

"Really? Like what?" questioned Harry, who was curious at what types of blood gifts that abound in his new home.

"Well, Kimimaro Kagya could grow his bones outwards to be used as weapons or long range projectiles. Gaara of the Sand can manipulate sand to crush and kill people in coffins of sand. Itachi Uchiha's Sharingan can trap somebody in their own mind to be tortured for 72 hours while only a few minutes have passed in real time." detailed Ibiki, deliberately withholding information about Konoha clans that wasn't common knowledge.

"Likewise, the Inuzukas are famous for their ability to communicate with their nindogs and the Aburames are renowned for their close bond with their kikaichu." the jounin concluded decisively.

"Kikaichu? What are those?" asked Harry, a slight frown marring his forehead as he tried to guess what type of animal a kikaichu was.

"A unique breed of insects that constructs its hives in Aburames' bodies and is used in combat." summarized Ibiki in a clear and concise manner.

Harry froze in shock as his mind tried to comprehend what his boyfriend just said..

"They have bugs that live inside their bodies?" the wizard asked just to be absolutely clear that he heard correctly.

"Yes."

"Okay then. I completely understand why parseltongue isn't usual or feared here."

"Insects? Insects are what settled your worried mind? Not the bones used as weapons or being crushed by manipulated sand. Nor being mental tortured for hours? Really, Harry? Insects are what you chose to focus on?" asked Ibiki in baffled amusement. He severely doubted he would ever understand or comprehend how his koibito's mind worked.

"What! They have bugs that live inside their bodies. You can't tell me that it's not an unsettling thought! Inside their bodies, Ibiki!" defended Harry. For a brief moment, he contemplated hiring an Aburame ninja to mentally scar Ron for life. 'What an absolutely delicious ideal! Pity, it's not possible.' he snickered to himself.

Ibiki stared unfathomably at his love, who was now shaking silently in amusement. 'Well, at least it's an improvement over fear' he thought. As he continued to gaze at his chortling beloved, Ibiki had the sudden urge to ravish him.

oOo Lemon Ahead oOo

Nuzzling Harry's left temple, he slowly laid a trail of kisses until he reached Harry's delicately curved ear.

Harry shuddered again, this time in desire, as he felt Ibiki's gently tug on his earlobe before the ninja claimed his lips in a fiery kiss. A slow heat ignited in his belly and he began to squirm slowly in response to the jounin's expert administration.

Ibiki continued his conquest of his Emerald's lips as one of his hands journeyed to the front of Harry's navy pants. His thumb teasingly stroked the wizard's budding erection through the silken fabric of his garment.

Feeling the tentative touch, Harry moaned softly and thrust his hips suggestively into Ibiki's hand.

Taking this action as a sign of consent, Ibiki continued his in depth exploration of his koibito's lower half. His thumb swiftly unclasped the front button and two fingers gently undid the zipper. Stealthily, his hand slipped under Harry's boxer and grasped firmly the wizard's hardening erection.

By this time, the wizard was drowning in pleasure. The feeling of Ibiki's hand around his manhood had caused lightening to rip through his body. His toes curled downwards and his hips shuddered sharply as he broke the kiss to moan mindless words of encouragement. One of the wizard's hand clutched the shirt fabric stretched tightly on Ibiki's right shoulder and his other hand strongly griped the chair arm in the efforts to prevent his body from falling onto the floor. Harry was completely unaware that he was grinding his body into Ibiki's in tempo of the jounin's stroking movements.

Ibiki groaned in appreciation for Harry's sensual undulations. He bent his head to lap at Harry's throat before sucking on a delectable patch of his koibito's neck. After applying an exact amount of pressure, he was extremely pleased to see a mark of possession blooming on Harry's throat for everyone to see. After creating the darkening hickey, Ibiki returned his lips to Harry's panting mouth and continued his ravishment of the wizard's ultra-sensitive body.

Between Ibiki's skillful kisses, nips, and strokes, Harry was quickly climbing the vortex of sensual surrender. He gasped and moaned as his body drawled tight and suddenly shuddered in release.

Ibiki seized Harry's lips and swallowed his scream as he climaxed. The jounin laid more gentle kisses across the wizard's cheeks as Harry tried to control his breathing and regain his equilibrium.

oOo Lemon Over oOo

Slowly Harry floated back down from the electrifying pleasure that had swept through his body. He tonelessly relaxed into Ibiki's gentle kisses in heady satisfaction. As the wizard shifted his hips, he stilled as he felt the physical evidence that Ibiki was still every much erect.

His head quickly turned and mortified emerald eyes met darkly satisfied black orbs. Immediately a wave of red colored Harry's face as he stammered words of apologizes.

Laughing in amusement, Ibiki kissed Harry's nose and dismissed his chagrined mumbling.

"Don't. I don't want nor need anything in return. I did it because I wanted to and not to pressure you into reciprocal actions." the jounin declared firmly as he carefully pulled his hand free from Harry's pants.

"There is a bathroom you can used that through that door. Take a few minutes to get cleaned up," here Ibiki paused with a suggestive smirk that left no doubt as to what Harry would be cleaning, "while I do the same." he continued. "Afterwards, we will go to dinner okay?"

"Yeh. That's good." Harry nodded his head rapidly and gingerly stood up from Ibiki's lap. He grabbed his pants to keep them from sliding off his hips and shuffled slowly to the bathroom, severely conscious of Ibiki's stare burning into his back.

Ibiki watched his Emerald walk into his personal bathroom. Once the door shut, he strode from his office to use the bathroom that was attached to department head's outer office. He absent mindedly noticed that Anko was not at her desk.

After a brief clean up, he returned and waited for his Emerald to rejoin him. He smiled gently as Harry sauntered towards him and unashamedly grabbed his hand to walk out together to get dinner.

The wizard beamed happily at his warrior and talked animatedly about the recent happenings at the Café and the Manor as they existed the building to buy groceries for Harry to cook at the Café. Ibiki listened attentively as he continued to watch for any signs of danger. Neither men paid attention to the shocked and stupefied reactions of the shinobi in the T & I Headquarters as they witnessed their stoic leader smile softly at his boyfriend.

* * *

~Monday Morning, Training Grounds

At nine o'clock in the morning, Naruto was wide awake and impatiently waiting with his teammates for their chronically tardy sensei to appear in order to begin their daily training or missions. For the past week, the blonde had been adjusting to the new changes in his life. He adored the Potter-Black siblings and loved living in their Manor. Although, he had to freely admit that Hermione-neechan had terrified him when she launched her shopping crusade to update the genin's wardrobe to appropriate apparel. Harry-san had cheerfully abandoned him to his sister's tender mercies after he informed the witch of Naruto's ungodly monstrosities, a.k.a. the orange jumpsuits.

'Honestly,' he huffed silently to himself, 'why can't people understand the power of orange? It is of the awesomeness!'

Never the less, Naruto was happy with his new clothes as Hermione had selected clothing that incorporated traces of his precious orange into each outfit.

The only change that left the blonde genin off balanced was his new teammate. Naruto was still unsure of what to think about Sai. Sure, he was glad that Sakura was no longer on the team to berrate or hit him on the head, but he honestly didn't believe being called Dickless or fending off sexual molestations was an improvement.

The fact that Sai was an Uchiha look alike but smiled creepily all the time was not a point in his favor.

Nearby, Sai continued to smile at his new teammates. He read from a book that smiling was a signal of nonaggression and a good way to encourage friendship. The Root shinobi really wanted to make friends with his teammates.

'After all, a close friendship would allow me to closely interact with the Kyuubi jinchuuriki and the last Uchiha.' he thought to himself. 'Plus, it will allow me to achieve Danzo-sama's goals easier.' Thus in the spirit of friendship, he decided to engage in skinship with his blonde teammate, who was reported to be more friendly than the brooding Uchiha.

"Good morning, Dickless! How are you today? Have you reached puberty yet? Allow me to check!" Sai glomped the helpless blonde and quickly tried to shoved his hand down the genin's black ninja pants that had two orange stripes on the sides.

Yelping in distress, Naruto hopped around trying to pull the molesting teenager off him.

"Damn it, Sai! Get your hands out of my pants. And stop calling me Dickless! I am a man!" bellowed the blonde as he finally wiggled out of Sai's attempt of friendship.

"I'm sorry, Dickless. Until I assess your claims of manliness, I cannot acknowledge your male gender. After all, you are the genin who created the fearsome Sexy Jutsu. Thus, you are female until proven otherwise." explained Sai calmly and rationally.

According to his guide of social interactions, nicknames were a sign of closeness. Plus, Naruto's history of gender bending was well known in Konoha. Sai rationally believed that Naruto could be a girl, so his clever nickname would remain until adequate proof was provided.

"I am a boy. A boy!" screamed a distraught Naruto. Who knew that his beloved Sexy Jutsu would betray him so?... Well, besides everybody who lived in Konoha! "You're not touching me in my special place, you pervert!" he growled as he scrambled to hide behind Sasuke.

"Your special place?" questioned Sasuke with a raised eyebrow. He snorted in faint amusement. "Hnnn, dobe."

"Teme! Nobody asked for your opinion. My special place is my special place and no touchy touchy! You hear that, you perverted Uchiha look alike. No touchy touchy!" roared Naruto as he made sure Sasuke was standing between him and the perverted fiend.

Just then, Kakashi appeared in the training field, courtesy of Konoha's signature shunshin.

"Yo!" he called out cheerfully, with an eye smile at his students. 'Won't they be surprised that I am only two hours late today?' he thought with glee, eager to see the shocked reactions of his cute little genins.

"Dickless!"

"No touchy touchy! No means no! Argg, Teme control your perverted clone!"

Kakashi watched silently as his 'early' arrive went unnoticed as Sai and Naruto rolled across the ground. Sai appeared to be groping Naruto while the blonde genin diligently tried to cause bodily harm to his new teammate.

'Is he trying to gouge Sai's eye out with a kunai?' mused the ignored sensei. 'I had no ideal that Naruto was so flexible!'

A perverted giggle echoed throughout the clearing.

"No! Not sensei too? Why am I surrounded by prevents!"

"Hnnn." protested the unmoving Uchiha who made no attempt to aide his 'rival'.

"You're a pervert too, Teme! Look at you just standing there! You obviously get your kicks by watching!"

"Hnn," snort, "Dobe."

"Teme!"

* * *

~ Monday, Konoha Hospital, 3'o clock pm

Sakura stood wearily in front of the mirrored sinks in the ladies bathroom on the third floor of Konoha Hospital. What a drastic change one hellish week could make.

The pinkette's nail was now disgustingly short and unpainted. Furofuki-sensei firmly banned long or painted nails. She cryptically explained long nails were more harmful than helpful and nail polish should chip and fall into open wounds or medications.

Likewise, Sakura was banned from using any scented lotions or perfumes because a patient could possibly be allergic to the scent or active ingredients. Furofuki provided several bars of unscented and antibacterial soap, a bottle of plain unscented and neutral lotion, and one bottle of bland shampoo combined with conditioner. On the second day of training, Sakura deliberately used her expensive body cream and came to the hospital for training anyways. Furofuki had publically berated her in front of all the nurses and doctors in the lobby before dragging her to a locker room and ordered her to bathe. If she wasn't scrubbed clean, dried, and dressed in ten minutes, Furofuki threatened to assist her.

A horrified tremor shoot through Sakura's exhausted body in remembrance of that terrible day. As if she wanted that old bitter hag to touch any part of her young, beautiful body.

Well, maybe not so beautiful now. More like cat dragged and ragged.

Sakura had bags underneath her eyes and her previous perfect skin was dry and clammy looking. Most appalling of all was the fact that the pinkette could tell that there was a patch of acne just waiting to break out any day now.

Acne. Never before had she ever had acne.

Besides Sakura's un-beautification, she had to deal with all the snide and snotty nurses in Konoha Hospital. Jealous old hags. As if her Sasuke-kun would every look at those old ugly cows much less marry one. Clan Restoration Act her ass!

The door of the bathroom opened and in came her most bitter and hated enemy.

"Oh, Sakura-chan. How are you enjoying your training. You look positively…hardworking." cooed Ami Nishimaru.

Ami strolled to the mirror. Setting a extravagant beaded cosmetic bag on the counter, she pulled out and applied a bright red lipstick. Smacking her lips together, she smiled in satisfaction at her perfectly coated ruby lips.

Turning sideway, Ami flipped her long hair and gazed smugly at the upstart forehead girl. She reveled in the ragged appearance of the bragging girl who crowed for days about being on Sasuke-kun's team.

'Then the ugly clown had the nerve to actually resign off the team and expected people to applaud her failure. Flat-chested ironing board, learn your place!' seethed Ami inwardly as she pasted an obviously fake smile on her face.

"Hmm, you really should go to the spa on your off day, Sakura-chan. Frankly, you're looking a bit run down right now." She blinked her eyes innocently. "How you ever thought Sasuke-kun would choose such a disreputable girl like you is beyond me."

Seeing Sakura about to interrupt her speech, Ami smiled viciously and continued. "Don't worry, it's not like he don't have plenty of options now. You know, Clan Restoration Act and all that. What you didn't think that juicy tidbit wouldn't get out? Especially given your fish mongrel wife behavior in the bookstore? As if!" She have a ladylike sniff to illustrate her distaste.

Ami paused dramatically and then slowly leaned forward to hiss "Unlike you, I don't mind putting the good of the Uchiha clan before my own selfishness. To arrogantly believe you can dictate the survival of the clan by 'controlling' Sasuke-kun, how utterly pathetic!"

Leaning backwards and flipping her hair again, Ami watched smugly as Forehead-girl tried to form a rebuttal. Key word- tried. "Anyways, I have to return to my nursing classes. Some of us actually take our jobs seriously instead of running home to Mommy when it gets too hard. Later, ugly forehead girl!" After that last verbal jab, she flounced back out to return to the regular nursing classes.

Sakura's entire body was consumed in rage. 'How dare she! How dare she talk to me that way! Her Sasuke-kun? Her Sasuke-kun! As if my Sasuke-kun would….."

The pinkette stared at her stilled reflection as she suddenly realized she talked about Sasuke the same way that the dog Ami did. 'There's no way I'm like Ami, right?' she wondered.

Shaking her head resolutely, she dismissed those ludicrous thoughts from her mind. "Some of us take our jobs seriously." She repeated with a sneer. "I'll show her seriousness. As if Ami could possibly be better than me. She is only studying to be a regular nurse while I am going to be a medic-nin. Hmph!"

Squaring her shoulder, Sakura strolled out of the bathroom with a fiery determination to prove that heifer Ami wrong - her and everybody else who doubt her too.

'Shannaro!'

* * *

Posted: 4/15/13 Word Count: 6,455 words.

Thank you for reading my story. Please take a moment and review. Thanks a million!

Author's Notes: Please read if interested.

Blood ritual failure – In my head, the basilisk venom and phoenix tears did not cause any hereditary/genetic changes to Harry's DNA or blood, only physical attributes such as an immunity or high tolerance to most poisons. Harry won't be able to pass those onto his children as a genetic trait. However, Sirius completed blood adoption of Harry to ensure his status as heir to the Black House was air-tight and non-contestable by the Malfoys or any other purebred family. As such, his blood changed to incorporate the strengthened bonds to the Black family. Thus it rendered the blood that Dumbledore had as being null and void. In addition, names have power in the Wizarding World. Harry's true name is Hadrian James Romulus Potter Black. According to magic, Harry James Potter no longer exists so trying to find a person using that name would be useless.

Shikaku's assistance in the investigation – he's Head Strategist and Jounin Commander. His high intelligence means he can help unravel the conspiracy plot quickly and employ strategies to counteract the damages wrecked over the years.

Skinship – a unique brand of friendship. The more skin contact you have, the closer your friendship is. Obliviously, this greatly appeals to Sai.

Furofuki-sensei – an actual medic nin who appeared in the Anime only. She is an old medic-nin who is knowledgeable in the usage of herbs. Given the Harunos boosting and bragging of a rare herbology book, Tsunade believed the no nonsense and caustic medic nin would adequately whip the fangirl into shape.

Ami - real character, fake last name. She is partially responsible for Sakura's forehead complex.

Sakura bashing? – no, not really. She's the type of girl that makes enemies really easily. She also needs to break out of her fangirlism. Whether she'll succeed and be salvable or not depends on my cantankerous muse.


	11. Chapter 10-Confrontations & Confessions?

Two Scarred Souls Heal Each Other

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Naruto. They belong to their respective authors and publishing/media companies.

Warning: Yaoi/Slash. Eventually Harry/Ibiki. Please don't read if its not your cup of tea.

Author's Note: This update has been due for quite some time. I apologize for the delay. As a Special Education teacher, there was quite a bit of paperwork to plow through as the school year came to a close. Lamentably, the urge to write was absent under the borage to complete IEP's, course requests, and conducting parent and committee meetings (Sorry, Yizuki!) Please rest assured that this story is not abandoned and I plan to complete it before the end of summer. Thank you for sticking with me and continuing to read my story!

Once again, a thousand thank you's to everybody who reads and review my story. It is sincerely appreciated. And yes, I do read every review!

This chapter is currently not beta. All mistakes and errors are mine.

* * *

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Chapter 10 – Confrontations and Confessions?

**Morning, Potter Manor, 7 am in the morning**

Dressed casually in dark trousers and a short blouse overlaid with an indigo vest, Hermione walked slowly towards the kitchen counter. Her warm hazel eyes were quickly reviewing the list of customized teas she had to prepare at the Café this morning. She stopped in front of the counter and thanked Dobby for the cup of tea that he had ready for her. Taking a sip, she looked up to give her morning greetings only to pause as she took in the unusual scene in front of her.

Sitting at the table, Naruto appeared to be ignoring his breakfast as he alternated between flailing his arms about, scowling fiercely, and puffing up his cheeks in affronted dignity. In stark contrast to the genin's energetic frenzy, Harry was calmly eating his omelet as he watched his ward in amusement with Hedwig perched on the back of his chair. The bizarreness of the situation was only compounded by Harry's and Hedwig's unison in tilting their heads sideways to the right as they listened to Naruto's ranting.

Shaking her head to clear her mind of several theories on the effects of familiar bonds, Hermione took her customary seat at the kitchen table. Catching Harry's eyes, she nodded in the direction of the blond genin who had yet to notice her arrival due to his impassionate speech of 'special places'.

Huffing a near inaudible chuckle under his breath, her brother quietly replied to her unspoken question by softly stating "Team Seven."

Hermione's eyebrows shot up in surprise. 'Huh,' she contemplated to herself, 'I thought the team dynamics would improve with the removal of the pinkette. I wonder what happened now?' She nodded her head in thanks towards Harry and both magicals resumed their rapt attention to the blonde genin.

"...perverts! That's what they all are! Why is Konoha full of perverted men? Why? Even Old Man Hokage was a pervert. You should have seen his reaction to my Sexy Jutsu! It was priceless! I bet that was why I was put on a team of perverts. It was revenge! Revenge!" Naruto emphasized his statement by pounding on the table with a closed fist.

"Naruto" Harry called out. The wizard was amused by Naruto's rabid rants about a teme, uchiha clone, and one eyed cyclop, but the blonde really should be eating breakfast. He knew shinobi used a lot of energy during the day and Naruto needed all the nutrients he could get to combat years of malnutrition. 'I wonder where those nicknames came from?' he thought.

"Kami-sama, even Sakura was a pervert. You should have seen the way she looked at Sasuke some days."

"Naruto"

"It was kind of creepy, you know? Like majorly creepy. I don't envy the Teme when it comes to those fangirls of his."

"Naruto"

"I don't even know why he has fangirls! He is such a cold blooded bastard."

"Naruto"

"Always with 'dobe' this and 'hnnn' that. What with the hnnns? What does hnnn even mean?"

"Naruto"

"Always just standing there with a stupid smirk on his stupid face. Can't even be bothered to help even when Sai had his hand down my pants! Perverted Teme!"

"Naru….What!"

Naruto stopped, shocked into silence from the sudden outburst from Harry and the loud screech from Hedwig. The blonde shrunk back a little into his chair as he was a little unnerved by the outraged expressions on his new family's faces.

"You were molested? By your own teammate? Where the hell was your sensei?" asked Harry, furious about the new abuse that his young ward had been subjected to.

"Uh, Kakashi-sensei was late like usual." replied Naruto sheepishly, running a hand through the back of his hair in a nervous gesture.

"Like usual?" questioned Hermione, her calm voice disguising her internal churning of anger. The witch had little forgiveness of sexual given her past.

"Yeah, Sensei is usually two to three hours late to every team meeting. Most of the time, we use that time to self train or sleep."

"Two or three hours late? That's awfully unprofessional of him. Did you tell him of Sai's unwanted attention towards yourself? I hope he received a proper punishment." Hermione asked as she stabbed her omelet with her fork.

"Oh no. Not really. Kakashi-sensei just giggled about it and mentioned something called skinship. I don't even now what that means." the genin mumbled around a bite of his breakfast. Surprisingly, he felt a lot better now that he had a chance to tell someone about the perverseness of Team Seven. Due to his renewed hunger and preoccupation with his breakfast, he failed to notice the dark looks of retribution that were exchanged between brother and sister, wizard and familiar.

"You know, Naruto, I never got a chance to apologize for the changes caused by Hedwig's actions towards your ex-teammate. Is it okay if I come to your team meeting this morning? That way I can apologize properly. I'll even pack some bentos for you all to enjoy for lunch later." Harry slyly asked.

"Bentos!" crowed Naruto happily. "Sure you can come to the team meeting! Everybody will be happily to see you! Especially since you're bringing yummy food!"

"Perfect! I look forward to meeting everybody!" smiled the green eyed wizard.

Naruto smiled back. He failed to notice the predatorily nature of Harry's smile but Hedwig and Hermione did not.

The snowy owl tugged sharply on a lock of her wizard's hair. Wincing slightly under his familiar's 'tender' administrations, he quickly amended his previous statement.

"Correction– Hedwig and I look forward to today's meeting. I have to go to the Café for an hour or so in order to prepare for the day. Hedwig will accompany you this morning. It will give her a chance to explore new hunting grounds as well." Harry waved his hand in the direction of his bossy owl, who hooted in agreement.

Her large amber eyes gleamed with intelligence and she clicked her beak sharply. Apparently, her hatchling had another teammate in need of chastisement.

_Excellent_

* * *

**Training Ground Three, 8 am in the morning**

Naruto cautiously entered training ground three, all his senses on guard for the perverted Uchihas. Rounding around a tree, he saw Sasuke sitting down and leaning against a tree trunk with his eyes closed. With Teme checked off, that left Pervert Clone unaccounted for. Swerving his head left and right, the blonde genin was unprepared for a hooting sound above his head. Looking upwards, he immediately noticed Hedwig perched elegantly on a branch.

Realizing she had her hatchling's attention, Hedwig fluttered down and gently landed on his shoulders. As her sharply curved beak attempted to groom his blonde spikes into owl submission, her large amber eyes stared menacingly in the direction of the vapid smiling youth who was attempting to sneak up behind her hatchling.

The flexing of her feet illustrated the sharpness of her claws. The clicking of her beak sounded sharply in the training ground like two kunai clashing together.

'Go ahead. I dare you!' was the message her entire body language portrayed.

Sai paused in his attempt of skinship to observe the obstacle in his road to friendship. Head tilted to the side, he debated the merits of continuing his pursuit of the blonde against the possible physical damage the owl could deliver. A quick scan of the owl revealed no hitai – ate so it wasn't a nin-animal. Nor did Sai believe the owl was a summon due to the existence of an owl summoning contract has never been validated. Therefore, he logically concluded the owl was just a pet of the Potter-Blacks and posed a low level threat. Besides as a highly trained Root shinobi, Sai believed himself to be more than capable of dodging an attack by a house pet. Nodding his head in determination, he decided to stay true to his course and continue his current path.

Poor Sai. He completely underestimated the power of a mothering owl. Especially if the mothering owl was Hedwig.

While the battle lines were being drawn, Naruto remained oblivious to the upcoming hostilities. He continued to gently pet Hedwig's feathers and rub behind her ears, re-affirming her desire to protect her poor victimized fledgling and heating up the deadly caveats in her amber stare.

Sasuke drew out of his meditative state at the sound of an owl hooting. Opening his eyes he noticed the owl that landed on Naruto's shoulders was the same owl from Apothecary Café that took exception to Sakura's loud and annoying voice. Observing the situation for a few seconds, Sasuke quickly concluded that his peaceful morning was going to be severely disrupted.

'Hnn,' he mentally decided, 'perhaps, I should move to a safer location.'

Obeying his survival instincts, Sasuke stood up and hastily walked up the tree. Settling onto a sturdy branch, he continued his observation of the increasing aggression over the affections of the blonde genin. How Naruto remained clueless to the raising tension was ridiculous to the last Uchiha.

'Dobe' he thought as he continued to watch Sai creep up on his preoccupied blonde teammate.

Naruto was happily petting Hedwig as his affection for the owl grew daily. He really wished to have his own companion like Hedwig or Crookshank but he didn't want to cause troubles in his new household. The blonde still had problems accepting the honest feelings of affection that Harry and Hermione held for him and didn't want his selfish desires to intrude upon his new family.

Lost in his thoughts of his new family, Naruto failed to notice Sai's slow approach on his left side. Predictably, he jumped in surprised when he suddenly found himself engulfed in a tight embrace and greeted with a "Good Morning, Dickless."

Before Naruto could scream at Sai for touching him or calling him Dickless, a ear piercing shriek of fury resounded from his right shoulder.

Hedwig was infuriated that smiley boy had the audacity to touch _her_ hatchling right in front of _her_. Not even dog boy managed to make her this angry and he foolishly said a puppy was smarter than her. _A puppy_!

As always, retaliation was swift and brutal.

Quickly, she flew upwards and dived down directly on top of the grabby smiling boy. Her talons flashed as she viciously yanked on black locks of hair and ruthlessly pulled smiley boy away from her hatchling.

Sai was completely shocked by the swiftness of the owl's attack. As he flailed his arms and tried to free himself from the clutched claws that was yanking his hair out from his scalp, the Root shinobi acknowledge he made a grave miscalculation in the threat level of the white owl. He vowed to properly repent for his rookie mistake with intense training later.

Naruto pivoted around and stared opened mouth in fascination as Hedwig attacked the Perverted Uchiha Clone. A warm feeling settled in the genin as he watched the second time the owl had defended him. Naruto swore to cook some bacon or fish and present it as a token of appreciation to Hedwig later on that day. But right now, he settled on cheering Hedwig on as she continued her domination over an over confident genin.

For the next several minutes, training ground three rang with the cries of pain, screeches of fury, and cheers of encouragement. Nearby shinobi heard the ruckus, shook their heads, and continued on their way.

After all, it's just another day of Team Seven of Konoha.

* * *

Harry pulled the last rack of pastries from the oven and set them on the counter to cool. The wizard was extremely grateful for the help of magic and Dobby. The wizard knew he wouldn't be able to attend Team Seven's meeting without this additional help. After Naruto had left the table, the wizard and house elf quickly began creating the Café's signature morning pastries – Danishes, muffins, turnovers, tarts, miniature pies, petite cakes, croissants, and loaves of bread. Newly added to the menu were quiches – which were quickly becoming popular as a quick breakfast or snack. Upon arriving at the Café, Harry activated the array of runes in the ovens to transport trays of the prepared goods to bake from the Manor to the Café. .

Looking at the kitchen's clock, he calculated that he had about one more hour to prepare for today's lunch menu. Thankfully today's fare was going to be light and simple due to the warm weather of summer – sandwiches, pastas, quiches, and soups. Thirty minutes later, Harry smiled in satisfaction as he completed the last bit of prep for the lunch service. He grabbed a fresh loaf of bread to make chicken sandwiches for Team Seven's bentos. Along with the sandwiches, he had assembled Italian pasta salad, three cheese Hasselback potatoes, and strawberry tarts.

The wizard packed up the last bento and walked into the storage closet, which was runed for privacy along with a secrecy ward. This ensured all non-magicals won't notice anything suspicious or unusual if the Café was ever inspected, spied upon, or broken into. One quick point-me-not spell, and Harry was out the back doors of the Apothecary Café in the direction of an unsuspecting Kakashi Hatake.

~ At the Memorial Stone ~

Kakashi stood solemnly before the Memorial Stone of Konoha. Everyday, he stood before the stone in contemplation and repentance of his past actions. Everyday, he reminded himself why he continued to walk the path of a shinobi despite the emptiness of his heart. Konoha's famed Will of Fire had been missing from the last Hatake's life for quite some time. It had been gone since October 10, many years ago, when he lost his Sensei and his last fragile bond of family.

A quiet coughing sound snapped Kakashi out of his reminiscence of his Team Seven –Obito, Rin, and Minato-Sensei.

Turning around, Kakashi encountered the sober emerald gaze of Naruto's new guardian and the most talked about man in Konoha – Hadrian Potter Black.

"Good morning, Black-san." Kakashi politely greeted the man, slightly curious as to why the man desired to speak with him.

"Good morning, Hatake-san. I apologize for intruding upon your privacy. I was wondering if I can have a moment of your time." Harry gave a polite bow of his head as he waited for Kakashi's answer.

"Ahh." Hatake said as he walked a few feet away from the memorial stone, his hands still encased in his pockets. As a shinobi, it was always good to appear nonthreatening in front of civilians. Especially wealthy civilians with infamously sadistic boyfriends.

"Hatake-san, I would first like to apologize for Hedwig's actions towards the girl genin member of your team. It was uncouth of her to act so in a public place." explained the wizard.

'The owl or Sakura?' wondered Kakashi. It was a textbook example of looking underneath the underneath.

"Well, that incident was beneficial as it awakened Sakura's determination to be a medic-nin. So no harm there." Kakashi shrugged. "Truthfully, team dynamics have improved since her departure."

"Team dynamics, huh. Well, that brings me to my second point of discussion. Naruto has mentioned that he has been receiving unwanted attention from a perverted Uchiha clone. This is somewhat distressing for my sister and I to hear about. We simply abhor abuse of any kind." The green of Harry's eyes intensified as his legendary temper began to manifest itself.

Kakashi spotted the signs of anger being held at bay. The ex-ANBU reflected on the rumors of Black's show down with the Civilian Council. By no means was he eager to get a public verbal lashing. As if Kurenai and Anko could fool him with their nonchalant walk from 10 meters away. The dog summoner knew they were listening to every word intently.

He quickly held up his hands in surrender and tried to defuse the situation.

"Naruto and Sai have a complicated relationship that is somewhat similar to his and Sasuke's. In other words it is filled with insults and slurs. Naruto is more than capable of returning any insult."

"And the sexual groping like a hand down his pants?" Harry asked with a polite smile as his eyes flashed warnings to tread carefully.

"During which Naruto tried to stab Sai's eye out with a kunai. Honestly, Sai is a little…..incompetent when it comes to social interactions. I noticed he was reading a book on how to socialize last week. Unluckily, his book was on how to make friends by Jiraiya-Sensei. Sadily, social friends were not the type of _friends _that the book was written about, nor is the author the best authority to follow when it comes to making such _friends_."

Kakashi's emphasis on 'friends' and the knowledge of Jiraiya's normal works of literature (courtesy of Hermione's complaints about the orange covered novels that were everywhere) clued Harry in on the true nature of Sai's socializing book.

"Sex friends. Sai is trying to make friends using a book on how to make sex friends by a renowned, self-acclaimed super pervert?" asked the wizard in a strained voice.

"Yes."

"And you didn't stop him when you noticed him reading it because?"

"Genins are considered adults as soon as they don a hitai-ate. I thought he had a genuine interest in gaining such companions as sex is often used by shinobi to relieve stress and frustrations." Kakashi's version of propriety was slightly unbalanced from being a member of a shinobi family and serving as an ANBU.

Shinobi were encouraged to cultivate hobbies to avoid burnout and seek sexual liaisons to relieve the stress of being in the corps. Most choose fellow ninja as partners due to the civilians' unease around trained killers (the common view of civilians regarding their shinobi counterparts) and the slight possibility that their civilian partner could be a spy or assassin. That's part of the reason why Ibiki and Harry's romantic relationship was infamous in Konoha. That a civilian was so comfortable with the infamous torturer of the T&I Department mystified and captivated the attention of both the shinobi and civilians.

"Wait…so Sai's trying to woo Naruto to being a bed partner?" Harry's tone rose sharply at the end of his question, conveying his honest shock and unhappiness over such a prospect.

"Possibly. I haven't got a clue if his intentions are for a friend or a sex friend. Either way, I am going to let those two work out their own issues and only intervene if the situation becomes dire."

"Attempted molestation and maiming isn't considered a dire situation?" Harry was somewhat appalled by shinobi's blasé towards sex. Om the plus side, he now understands Ibiki's ability to take their relationship slowly. Being the Head of the T&I Department allows him to ease his 'stress' in more creative ways. On the negative side, it doesn't do a damn thing to help him.

'Damn!' thought the wizard in a fit of internal realization.

"We're shinobi. Its practically a confession." continued Kakashi. "Their fights will accelerate as they test each other's mettle. Their little spats will eventually resolve into sex, a strong friendship, or a mutual understanding."

Harry stared at the jounin in stunned disbelief. Bizarrely, he was reminded of all his past interactions with Draco Malfoy and had to repress a shudder of distaste over the thought of them being…NO! Absolutely not!

Harry wretched his mind from such horrifying hypothesizes and thought about Naruto again. Poor, innocent Naruto who was possibly being pursued without realizing it. Perverts, indeed!

Signing deeply, the green eyed wizard shook his head and made a mental note to talk to Naruto that evening. Mentally shivering in horror over having to give a lecture about sex to a teenager, Harry lifted the lunch basket to bring Kakashi's attention to it.

"I hope you don't mind. I brought lunch for Team Seven to share as part of my apology for Hedwig's actions. Shall we go?" he asked the jounin sensei.

Kakashi eye smiled at the man. He quite enjoyed the fare at Apothecary Café so he was now looking forward to lunch. His cute genins were bound to make it more interesting too!

"Ah. They are in a training field near by." he pointed west and gestured for Harry to follow him. As they walked away, both men ignored the sounds of Anko's cackling laughter.

"Sex friends! Little genin sex friends! Oh, Dango-sama! Wait til Biki hears about this!"

~At Training Ground Three ~

Harry and Kakashi traveled quietly to training ground three, both men were too busy with their own inner contemplations to make polite conversation. They walked into the middle of the training ground only to be confronted by a very incredulous sight.

Leaning against a tree was a vey battered and scratched Sai. Kakashi wasn't so much as shocked by his ragged appearance as he was by Sai's faintly scowling facial expression. For the first time, Sai was portraying an honest and real emotion on his face instead of his fake smile that didn't fool anybody. The fact that the scowl seemed to be directed at an owl only made the scene more unbelievable.

Said owl was fluffing her plumage in a very smug fashion. Hedwig continued to puff up her feathers as she preened her hatchling's hair and basked in her victory over grabby smiley boy. The short but epic battle lasted a mere twenty minutes until Sai finally came to the conclusion that being near the blonde genin was hazardous to his health. That epiphany had the Root ninja retreating and maintain a distance of 20 feet away from Naruto where he scowled and plotted his next move. Sai reassured himself that he only logically removed himself from the owl's range in order to avoid harming the pet of an influential citizen of Konoha. By no means did he _run away_ because he was _losing_. Nope. Completely illogical. Denied.

Naruto seemed enraptured with petting and scratching Hedwig. His enthusiastic promises of bacon, fish, and ramen to the smug owl increased the jounin's and wizard's perplexity.

For both men, the defining moment of the sheer oddness of the genin's (and owl's) bizarre behavior was when they spotted Sasuke. The Uchiha appeared to be hiding…..in a tree.

Harry looked back and forth between his owl and the scratched genin. He sighed and looked at the highly amused jounin.

"I'll be back tomorrow with lunch too." he stated.

"Ah" Kakashi acknowledged with a gentle hum and eye smile.

Neither man mentioned their suspicions of what probably occurred in the training ground.

They just strengthened their inner resolve to speak with their respective genin and give him 'The Talk'.

* * *

~The T&I Department~

Anko bounced towards her office with a mad grin stretched across her face. Who knew Nai-chan's suggestion of tea and dango would cause them to come across such a delightful scene. Kakashi Hatake having to explain the shinobi's perceptions on sex to a naïve civilian was hilarious! The fact that the naïve civilian was also Biki's sexy man just made the scene that more delicious in amusement.

Her happy cackles of glee caused her co-workers to move quicker as they desperately tried to avoid Anko in her moment of sadistic happiness.

Ibiki could clearly hear his subordinate's sounds of glee as she came closer to their private offices. He signed deeply and fervently hoped there wouldn't be more vocalization of the Way of Dango and Dangology. The T&I Department Head really wasn't in the mood for Dango mantras or burnt offering of Dango to Dango-sama. The jounin lamented the lack of distance between her office and his.

"Good morning, Biki! How are you doing? You look happy! Did you finally get some from your sexy man?" she asked rapidly with a demented smile as she slammed the door open to his office.

Ibiki leveled a stern glare at Anko. "If you don't have anything important to say, leave! I don't have time to listen to the greatness of Dango." he growled at her.

"Ah ah ah, Biki-kun!" Anko wagged a finger at him. "No being grouchy at me this morning. Especially since I bring you such interesting news regard your Green Eyed Sexy Man!" she crowed.

Ibiki resisted the urge to run a hand over his face in exasperation. Any sign of weakness will be exploited by the remaining snake summoner in Konoha. Instead he raised an eyebrow and gave Anko a deadpanned look of non-amusement.

"Tch!" she pouted, disappointment that she failed to get a rise out of Ibiki. She decided to get to the point before she could be assigned to cleaning and scrubbing cells (again!).

Anko scowled at her superviser and risked one last jab in before revealing her information. "You're no fun! You better watch out or your little chef may caste his green eyes at someone else. Maybe Kakashi? They seemed rather comfortable together when Nai-chan and I was walking past the Memorial Stone. Kakashi even explained Shinobi Sex to him!" she announced with a flourish.

Ibiki felt one of his eyebrows twitch in anger. Not at the insult to him but at the implied innuendo that his Emerald could be unfaithful.

'Perhaps a little cleaning will help Anko learn some diplomatic skills?' he mused.

Pushing thoughts of retribution aside, he focused on the significant part of Anko's taunt.

"Shinobi sex? What the hell are you talking about?"

Anko cackled for a few seconds in inner victory that she succeeded in ruffling Ibiki's legendary composure. She now owned herself some more dango!

"You know, the reasons why shinobi are so casual about sex. Its how we unwind and de-stress ourselves. Very relaxing. That's why specific _friends _are essential to be a healthy ninja!" she explained happily to her suddenly horrified boss.

Quickly, Ibiki got the mental picture that Anko was painting and it wasn't a pretty one. Despite her public façade of insanity, Anko may exaggerate tales for personal amusement but she never lied to her fellow ninja. She harbored deep hatred for people who would prolifically lie to their friends and families. Not surprising given the betrayal of previous sensei, Orochimaru.

That meant Kakashi Hatake did talk to _his _koneko about sex.

Sex Talk. With. His. Emerald.

The small office abruptly filled with killing intent as Ibiki vowed to have a little 'chat' with Hatake about discretion and personal boundaries. If the chronically tardy jounin even implied to his koibito that Ibiki was casual in his affection, he would take perverse pleasure in illuminating how he cultivated his infamy as a legendary torturer and interrogation specialist.

Anko hastily retreated from the potent KI and quickly exited the office. In hindsight, teasing Ibiki was probably not her best ideal, she acknowledged to herself.

'Oh well! Its fitting punishment to the one eyed pervert for all the times he read his smutty orange books in public. Once I tell Kurenai, I won't have to hear her rants about the proper behavior of a jounin sensei for a while. I win!' she rationalized to herself, dashing back out of the T&I building to find her best friend.

~Back at Training Ground Three~

As he watched Black-san hand out the individual bentos to his team, Kakashi experienced a sudden chill down his spine. He quickly perused over the grounds and surrounding trees for hidden threats. Kakashi even discretely used his Sharingan to scan his surrounding. When he couldn't find anything, he went back to leaning against a tree and resumed his nonchalant attitude.

He had no idea of the little 'chat' that loomed in his future courtesy of his laziness to rein in the over zealousness of his genins.

It's a mistake he won't make again in the future.

* * *

Posted: 06/11/13 Word Count: Over 4,950 words.

Author's Note: Please read if interested.

Shinobi views of sex – I honestly believe they have a very relaxed views on sex due to the mortality rate of being a ninja and the consequences of being captured by enemy nins. It makes sense that they encourage genins to have their first time with partners they trust as opposed to what they could experience during captivity. Also, I do believe that hobbies and activities would be encourage to help the corps avoid burnout or insanity. Thus, Kakashi's reading of smut and Gai's over exuberance are accepted as eccentric hobbies of elite ninja. It makes sense that sex serves as a basic function for pleasure and relaxation. Thus, its another reason why Jiraiya's books are immensely popular though out the Elemental Countries. Plus, it illustrates why Ibiki is content to wait for Harry to be secured and confident in their relationship. Years of meaningless sexual gratification means Ibiki treasures their relationship and can wait.

Why isn't Kurenai training with her team? – Her team consists of two Clan Heirs and a potential Clan Heir. In my mind, this means she alternates mornings when they train as a team and ,mornings when they train individually with their respective clans. They will meet after lunch to work on missions and teamwork exercises.

Shout outs: Thank you Basill and Venus914 for spotting my errors!


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